Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog

646-home gated community phased in over 10 years


JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – If you were wondering if the new-home market has rebounded, developer Warren Jolly just sent a resounding yes with his plans to build a 224-acre gated community at Bell Road and Medlock Bridge Road just south of Technology Park.

It is easily the largest residential development in several years for Johns Creek, and will be a "development of regional impact," which means it will have to get clearance from the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority. Final say will come from the Johns Creek City Council.

Jolly, president of the Providence Group of Georgia LLC, said he plans to build 646 homes in a phased development called Bellmoore that will take 10 years to complete. The homes will range in price from the mid-$400,000s to more than $800,000, with an average price in the $500,000 to $750,000 range.

The homes themselves will be 2,500 square feet to 5,000 square feet with lot sizes of 4,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet.

"We will build about $30 million a year in new homes," Jolly said.

The plan was previewed March 14 to the Johns Creek Community Association Community Zoning Information Meeting, which had about 25 homeowners in attendance including HOA officers from the surrounding communities.

Real estate attorney Nathan V. Hendricks, speaking for the project, said it is a community unit plan (CUP) that has been submitted to the city for analysis. The project will have a density of 2.88 units per acre. The city Comprehensive Land Use Plan calls for a maximum of three units per acre.


The property is part of the Deen-Day family acreage that is on the north side of Bell Road and directly behind the Johns Creek United Methodist Church.

Hendricks said key qualities the development will have include:

• A mandatory homeowner association that will be responsible for all landscaping and grounds maintenance.

• Two pools and an eight-court tennis amenity.

• A 10,000-square-foot clubhouse.

• A 5-acre natural park.

• Around 70 acres of green space throughout the property.




The two greatest concerns of the public were the effect on schools in the area and traffic, with traffic being the greater of the two.

Almost all of the questions centered on morning commuter traffic worsening and traffic safety at Medlock and Bell Road, and at Bell Road and Boles Road.

As for schools, Jolly said the target buyer would be downsizing older homeowners whose children are grown. While this did actually placate concerns, the neighbors moved on to traffic issues.

Perhaps the one element that Jolly had the most control over was the proposal by the city to create a secondary road that would connect Bellmoore on the northwest edge of its property and the Methodist church to Technology Park via Technology Circle.

This would provide Bellmoore residents access to Medlock Bridge without getting on Bell Road. It would also provide an alternate route for parents bringing their children to the church's preschool.

"We want to provide that connectivity because we know it will be as important to our future residents as it is to you," Jolly told the homeowners.

To that end, Jolly revised the location of the tennis courts to allow for dedication of right of way for the proposed road.


But that road is just a proposal. Residents wanted to know what would be the effect of another 1,200 cars potentially pulling out onto Bell Road at 7:40 a.m. Bell Road at Boles Road is a nightmare in the mornings especially and has an F traffic rating.

Jolly's traffic expert John Walker of Kimley Horn and Associates said the city's plan to put a roundabout in the intersection should more than solve the congestion there.

"I love roundabouts, both as a driver and a traffic planner. GDOT [Georgia Department of Transportation] has finally caught on. Any intersection where they get a request for a signal, they say first must be modeled for a roundabout."

The intersection at Medlock and the church can be eased after the 9 a.m. peak by a retiming of the interval of the light to allow Abbotts Bridge-Bell traffic more time to move through the intersection. The north-south traffic on Medlock is greatly reduced by then as rush hour wanes. That makes the longer interval feasible, Walker said.

Margot Vetrovsky of Sugar Mill community said Jolly "had done a lovely job" in planning the project, but she still remained unconvinced that the traffic situation would be tolerable.

"I just want what's best for Johns Creek, and traffic is the biggest issue," she said.

Catherine Bonnet said Highway 120 (Abbotts Bridge) was still affected. She has school-age children she either drives or puts on the bus, and that is a worry to her.

Labels: Johns Creek, johns creek arts center, johns creek city hall, Johns Creek Election, johns creek fire department, johns creek high school, New Homes

On Tuesday, the new Johns Creek Fire Department takes over from Fulton County firefighters the protection of 65,000 residents and businesses.

It’s a process almost two years in the making, with launch dates pushed back time and again as organizers worked through funding needs, staffing requirements, equipment availability, and contractual obligations with Fulton County.

The latter has provided fire coverage for the city until the municipal Fire Department was ready.

The Johns Creek department plans to do things a little differently from Fulton County. Instead of responding to emergency calls with just pumper trucks, it may send rescue vehicles and pumpers, depending on the severity of the situation. Staffing will be increased for safety and effectiveness, and most of the time, paramedics will ride on each vehicle.

Employee experience ranges from two to 28 years of service. There will be 24 paramedics and 12 Georgia Search and Rescue firefighters, including three instructors.

“I was very happy with that,” said Chief Joey Daniels, a former Fulton County battalion chief who served north Fulton. “We bring a lot to the table. We have a lot of experience and skills, including firefighting, medical care and technical rescue. That’s good for us.”

The department will have newer and more equipment. Each vehicle will have advanced life-support equipment that provides the highest level of pre-hospital emergency care. Each vehicle also has sophisticated heart monitors that can send EKG readings to the hospital so the doctor knows what to expect.

The rescue vehicles will carry special equipment for respiratory emergencies.

Labels: Georgia, johns creek fire department

Applications from qualified firefighter professionals are now being accepted for consideration for firefighter positions with the new Johns Creek Fire Department, set to launch late summer 2008.

A job fair has been scheduled for Saturday, June 21, from 10 am to 3 pm in the Council Chambers of Johns Creek City Hall, 12000 Findley Road, 3rd floor. (Please note the revised date.)

For more information visit About the JCFD or contact Chanta'l Scott in Human Resources at 678-512-3275.

Labels: johns creek fire department

With an August start date fast approaching, the city is taking steps to ensure the Johns Creek Fire Department is geared up with equipment and fiscally on target.

Recruiting will begin at the end of month to hire a total of 79 firefighters and personnel. Fire Chief Joseph Daniels was named earlier this year.

"There has been a lot of interest so far [in fire department recruitment]," said City Manager John Kachmar.

City Council discussed salary options for the fire department at its May 19 meeting. A fire battalion chief will be paid a minimum of $68,000 per year and a Class One firefighter will be paid a minimum of $32,400 per year, respectively. Other positions will be paid between $37,500 per year and $72,000. The fire chief will be paid a minimum of $105,000 per year.

"We're in a comfortable, competitive range with other county and city fire departments," said Kachmar. "We'll be able to attract very good, quality candidates."

He added that phones have been "ringing off the hook" with inquiries about the fire department recruitment.

City Council also discussed purchasing two rescue transport vehicles for more than $223,000 and dozens of Self Contained Breathing Apparatus [SCBA] for more than $253,000. The SCBA includes 48 Scott Air Pak 75, 85 face pieces, 123 cylinders and individual fit testing.

The two rescue vehicles will be available at the end of the month. City officials will travel to Wisconsin in the coming weeks to inspect purchased vehicles.

Kachmar said when the city budgeted for the fire department last year, it was a "lump sum" because it was work in progress.

The city is within budget for the fire department salary and will have enough funds for the fiscal year 2008-2009, according to Kachmar.

Kachmar estimated that the city is currently around $43,000 under budget for the fire department. He said the numbers are close to the budget because some items were more expensive than earlier estimated and others were less expensive.

"We have the money necessary to start a very good fire department, which will have expanded coverage than what we have now," said Kachmar.

Daniels said there is a maximum of 16 personnel on staff with the Fulton County Fire Department. With the Johns Creek Police Department, the maximum will be 24 on staff at any given time.

"If we raise staffing numbers we won't have to send the entire staff out [to respond to a fire]," said Daniels.

Mayor Mike Bodker said while the numbers may be close to the budget, it's the fact that the city still comes under budget that is important.

"We're going to end up with a world class fire department," said Bodker.

Labels: city manager john kachmar, johns creek fire department