Friday, 10 September 2010 12:45

Anyone who ventures into Senoia is delighted by the renaissance that the town is undergoing. This year, it’s kicking into high gear and Senoia is drawing more attention than ever.

Southern Living Idea House

Over the past few years, Historic Downtown Senoia has seen intense revitalization along its Main Street. Now the Historic Senoia Project is breathing even more life into the area, with an added spark since it was announced that a 2010 Southern Living Magazine Idea House is being set in the heart of it. Throngs of people are expected to visit this year—an estimated 30,000 to 40,000, in fact.

Construction is underway and the Idea House is scheduled to be open to the public for tours in June 2010, with ticket proceeds benefitting The American Cancer Society Cattle Baron’s Ball 2010.

“The Idea House, set in the heart of the redevelopment, is a brownstone rather than a single-family detached home,” explains Terry Pylant, a partner at the award-winning architectural firm Historical Concepts and lead on the Senoia Southern Living Idea House project. Similar to the brownstones found in Charleston, the 3,700-square-foot, 3.5-story house will feature a rooftop terrace and elevator, as well as a courtyard, small pool and cabana.

The interior designer for the project, selected by Southern Living, is Jamie Elliott McPherson, CKD, Allied ASID and principal of Hearth and Home Interiors of Newnan. John Bynum Custom Homes, Inc., one of the Atlanta area's premier custom homebuilders, is also involved.

“The Southern Living people are enthusiastic about the Idea House being truly connected with the historic downtown, and are intending to do more with Senoia,” continues Pylant. “What Paul and Scott have done with Historic Downtown Senoia has been a real boon. The whole project has been a catalyst for revitalizing commerce and growth in Senoia.”

Historic Senoia Project

Historical Concepts has been involved in Senoia’s revitalization for some time and has worked with Historic Downtown Senoia and The Gin Property developers, Paul Lombardi and Scott Tigchelaar, on the historically accurate infill project, developing the land plan and architectural guidelines.

Lombardi and Tigchelaar are the principals of Riverwood Studios, a facility located on 120 acres in Senoia that offers premier production facilities for everything from commercials and music videos to full-length films. Some of the feature films done at Riverwood include Fried Green Tomatoes and Sweet HomeAlabama. Their idea to develop The Gin Property not only brings new energy to Senoia, it also attracts more film production to the area, since Senoia becomes a working, living backdrop.

“Now it’s full of excitement, but Senoia was a sleepy town,” says Pylant. He points out that the sleepiness is just what made Senoia ideal for the project, since it stayed frozen in time. “There are still wood frame buildings here. Most towns demolished them around the end of the 19th century to make way for updated buildings, but Senoia kept them, so there’s now a combination of brick and frame buildings on Main Street.”

According to Pylant, everything is protected and it all flows together. “The Gin Property is being developed so it’s an extension of the downtown development, a natural progression of what would have happened as time passed and growth continued from Main Street onward, to connect with the area across the railroad.”

Situated in the heart of Senoia’s Historic District on the site of the former McKnight Cotton Gin, The Gin Property is an 11-acre infill residential development offering unique custom homes that blend modern amenities and gracious Southern living into an historic sense of style and place, all within walking distance of downtown shops and restaurants.

The residences will all be custom built with circa early 1900’s designs and a focus on green building principles. The options include period single-family houses, courtyard homes with detached garages, brownstones, live/work homes and factory lofts.

Pylant adds that the mixed-use development has the potential for a boutique hotel on one corner as well. “As we make the transition, all of it ties in with the concept,” he says.