Long-time believers in Serenbe now call it home

Dianne Harnell Cohen and her husband Richard Cohen were involved in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and all its venues. Serenbe in south Fulton County was close to the shooting venue, and Serenbe’s founders Steve and Marie Nygren had opened a bed-and-breakfast on the property. That introduced the Cohens to Serenbe and they started spending more and more time there, including their children and grandchildren for special times and holiday celebrations.

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Photos by Christopher Oquendo / AJC Special

The founders of Serenbe introduced Dianne Harnell Cohen and her husband Richard Cohen to the community. Eventually, the Cohen’s decided to buy land and build a home in Serenbe.

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The Cohen’s truly enjoyed the design process of their home at Serenbe. The layout includes space for entertaining and quite reflection, and their grandchildren love their Serenbe home.

Getting there:

Directions from downtown Atlanta: Take I-85 south to Exit 69 (South Fulton Parkway). Continue about 15 miles and turn left onto Cochran Mill. At the dead end, turn right on Hutchison Ferry. Turn left on Atlanta Newnan Road, and go one mile. Turn right into Serenbe.

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“Our grandchildren adored it,” said Dianne Harnell Cohen. “They thought we owned the farm.” The area around the Nygren’s property began to develop into Chattahoochee Hills and the Nygrens created a hamlet at Serenbe. “Eventually Richard and I decided this would be a wonderful spot for a weekend getaway. We decided to buy a lot and build what we wanted. Now that it’s done, we couldn’t be more thrilled.”

The Cohens bought their lot just over four years ago and only began the building process in February 2008. They moved into their new home last November.

Waiting to build: “We bought the lot because we wanted to be in a particular place in Serenbe,” recalled Harnell Cohen, “but from a lifestyle point of view, we weren’t ready to build. We ultimately sold our home in Buckhead, bought a smaller condo in Atlanta where we spend the week days and then built our home here for weekends and holidays. We find we are spending more time here and less in Atlanta.”

A great design and construction process: “It’s a fabulous house,” said Harnell Cohen, and she recounted the design process. “My husband and I had very much the idea of how we wanted to live, so we sketched it out on napkins like most people do. Then we took it to a fabulous architect, Moon Brothers, and they looked at it and made it even better. Our builder was Greg Mansour Construction and they made this the best building experience we’ve ever had. Everyone who worked on this project worked so well together, and had such professionalism. They were excited about the project and they did great work here, and that included William Stewart Designs who helped me with the interiors.”

At a glance: The Cohen’s home has 28 ft ceilings in the main living room with a very large kitchen. The grandchildren christened it the “giant” room while the house was under construction, and the name remains. The main floor also features a “quiet” room with no TV and no stereo, just a respite for sitting quietly by the fireplace and reading. The master suite is located on that level, as is an office. Upstairs are two more bedrooms. In the basement there’s a garage and a gym, an art room for the grandchildren and a wine cellar, and a smaller room with 8 ft. ceilings that the grandchildren call “the cave”. “There’s lots of outdoor living space with a fair amount of decking, a fire pit on the deck and a wrap-around porch with a hot tub and sleeping swings.

Who lives there: Harnell Cohen is the City of Atlanta’s Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. Her husband Richard is an orthopedic surgeon. They’ve found a true community at Serenbe. “Serenbe is all about people who enjoy the environment and the outdoors, who are interesting people and many of them are very artistic. Many of the folks here are full-time residents, and then there are second home owners like us who come down for as many days each week as they can. The rest are residents from out-of-town who may have other homes and spend three or four months here. We also see lots of people come in on day trips too, enjoying the restaurants and even coming from Buckhead to the beauty shop here where the beautician divides her time between her shops in Serenbe and Buckhead,” said Harnell Cohen.

The community: “There are walking trails to hike, waterfalls to visit, a stable with horses, a lake with canoes and for us, the big plus is no golf course,” she laughed, explaining that they were definitely not interested in a golf community. “You can find anybody at any time at the [Blue Eyed] Daisy and we enjoy dinner at the Hil and the Farmhouse. There’s a grocery store, several art galleries and shops with an environmental focus. You know, we moved from our house in Buckhead where we had spent 26 years, raising our children there, and not a single soul came to say ‘good bye’. That would never happen at Serenbe.”

Information:

Tucker Berta of Serenbe says that the demographics at Serenbe are broad. “The youngest resident is 3 months old, the youngest homeowner is 25, and oldest homeowner is an octogenarian. There are singles, young families, empty nesters, grandparents and seniors.” The community encourages an active, healthy lifestyle with over 10 miles of walking trails, an outdoor adventure shop that rents bikes and hosts weekly events like rides and hikes, a Community Supported Agriculture program and Saturday farmers’ market with the Serenbe Organic Farms, and three gourmet restaurants serving farm-fresh produce.

The founders of Serenbe are proud of its environmental heritage. They say that every building there is “green”, built to meet or exceed EarthCraft’s strict standards. The Blue Eyed Daisy Bakeshop is the smallest Silver LEED certified building in the nation, and serves as a “town center” of sorts, and even offers charge accounts for all residents.

Berta also reports that The Hil and The Farmhouse restaurants have both received much critical acclaim. The restaurants’ chefs even graced the cover of the AJC’s dining guide last year. (Editor’s note: Nicolas Bour is no longer at The Farmhouse.)

Information on all available real estate including new homes, lots and resales may be found at Serenbe.

For Sale:

9171 Selborne Lane, Lot #38: four-bedroom two-full two-half-bath two-story home; wrap-around sleeping porch with custom shutters, gourmet kitchen, finished basement with theater room and wine cellar, outdoor fireplace, 2-car garage. $850,000

9133 Selborne Lane, Lot #22: live/work, four-story unit; first and second floors are built as commercial space with commercial kitchen on first floor, landscaped courtyard and 2 ADA powder baths; 2nd floor has ADA full bath, office space and open area; third and fourth floors are residential space with open kitchen/great room and full bath, fireplace; top floor has master suite with rooftop terrace, steam shower and jetted tub in master bath. $649,000

10524 Serenbe Lane, Lot #192: .21 acre estate lot with 60 ft. frontage in the Grange hamlet, surrounded the Serenbe Farms, Serenbe Stables, six-acre lake, and preserved forestland. Build on this lot now, or wait up to three years. $299,000