FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Fulton County commissioners unanimously approve a sewer and water easement that will allow construction of a luxury residential subdivision in Alpharetta as the city’s available undeveloped land continues to dwindle did.
The Hawthorne neighborhood will feature luxury single-family homes starting at about $1.5 million, according to developer Toll Brothers. Home sizes will range from 3,675 to 4,279 square feet. The 22.7-acre site has 41 lots with a minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet.
Hawthorn is located on Buis Road, off Kimball Bridge Road, in the southeastern edge of the city. On both sides of this area are neighborhoods lined with single-family homes.
Commissioners approved allocating approximately 100,000 square feet for water and sewer lines to move the project forward.
Community Development Director Kathy Cook said Alpharetta only has about 400 acres of undeveloped land. Floodplains and river buffer zones limit construction and further limit the use of buildable land.
As a result, future projects will increasingly rely on the redevelopment of existing sites.
In late 2024, the City Council reviewed two housing projects in the Brookside area and rezoned residential, office and commercial space currently occupied by aging offices.
Donna Murphy, a real estate agent and longtime Alpharetta resident, said decreasing land availability will drive up prices, resulting in more expensive housing being built.
Developers are looking to build more expensive housing to recoup the money spent on land purchases, she said.
Murphy also serves as president-elect of the 400 North Association of Realtors and a member of the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals.
“The more it goes up, the more expensive housing has to be,” Murphy said.
Murphy said she is concerned about the availability of affordable housing in the city. The affordable housing available is virtually “non-existent,” she says.
“We look forward to a more balanced market,” Murphy said.
A KBA Advisory Group study submitted to the Alpharetta City Council in 2021 found that new housing is almost completely unaffordable for households with incomes below $100,000.
According to the study, Alpharetta’s housing market produced very few new single-family homes priced under $300,000, and virtually no homes priced between $300,000 and $400,000.
Murphy said land prices are expected to rise further as cities become increasingly attractive places to live, although building townhomes and apartments vertically may provide some relief.
“It’s really rare,” Murphy said of the affordable housing available. “There’s really nothing outside.”
