
My girlfriend Kari and I took a trip out to Serenbe, in Chattahoochee Hill Country, about 45 minutes south of downtown Atlanta. Meandering through the "Hamlet," which has a small town center, we were impressed and surprised.
The development has great character, and is taking shape nicely. Some might complain that the architecture is a bit pastiche, with many styles borrowed from the turn of the century: Tudor, Victorian, and Georgia. However, there is also quite a bit of good modern architecture. Although the economic malaise has certainly taken its toll on the project, there are still some neat shops. I thought Ecomeme had a very innovative line of products, and is worth stopping by to check out.

We had lunch at Blue Eyed Daisy. The food was inexpensive and quite good. I had the tuna wrap and Kari had the curry chicken salad sandwich. Also, the house baked chocolate chip cookie was awesome.
The cafe is housed in a building that achieved a LEED-NC Silver rating in 2006, but looks like it is over 100 years old.
I'd highly recommend a day trip to Serenbe to anyone looking for a quick getaway from the city.

I'm certain that as the project expands, it will increasingly draw people to come visit, growing the town's amenities and shops. The next phase calls for an expansion of the town center and more residential.
Serenbe is one of three hamlets proposed for this massive area of preserved land. The Chattahoochee Hill Country is over 65,000 acres, of wich 80% will be preserved as farmland. This is a much more European model of development, and I'm glad to see these ideas being implemented in metro Atlanta. Take a drive down South Fulton Parkway, and you'll notice the difference. Instead of strip mall after strip mall, there is something new happening.