Vickery

Hedgewood Properties, Forsyth County
www.hedgewoodhomes.com

Vickery is a 214-acre Greenfield, mixed-use development located in, Cumming GA., a northern suburb of Atlanta.  The neighborhood was designed by accomplished New Urbanist Andres Duany, and is being developed and built by Hedgewood Properties, Professional Builder magazine’s National Builder of the Year in 2003.

Vickery’s site design and architecture provide a neighborhood and housing choice for homebuyers who value suburban living and also appreciate the qualities of traditional towns. The design includes narrow streets and street trees for pedestrian safety, reduction of impervious surface and aesthetic quality. Tighter front setbacks, front porches and sidewalks enhance sociability. The project offers single-family detached homes, townhomes, lofts, and live-work spaces for residences, as well as retail and office space and recreational facilities. This mix of uses enables residents to carry out many of their activities within the community and without their automobiles. Mixed-uses, a variety of housing choices, parks and greenspace, as well as alternative transportation options allow for greater sustainability.  

Preservation plays a key role in the design and development of the community.  The site plan integrates 75.43 acres of green space in parks, fields, trails, and ponds that account for over 35% of the total property area.  Special attention was paid to water issues; wetland areas were either preserved or restored, and storm water from retention ponds is used to irrigate common areas. Advanced water quality techniques are installed to not only improve storm water emissions but to also preserve acres of trees and green space.

Another important aspect of the Vickery design is tree preservation and planting. Over fifty mature trees were rescued from roadway paths and replanted into the neighborhood. Moreover, new tree planting exceeds the local ordinance requirement.

In addition to ecologically sensitive site development, the developer/builder has a solid commitment to green building.  Hedgewood is the leading practitioner of the EarthCraft House residential green building certification program, and every home in Vickery is built to that standard.  The builder is also pursuing a green building certification for its 50,000 sq.ft. on site YMCA through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, which will be the first of its kind in the state of Georgia. 

Vickery is evidence that executed conscientiously, greenfield development can be an environmentally sound practice that respects landscapes and communities.