A garden-inspired housing development with a farmer’s touch is poised to add dozens of cottage homes to the downtown Kennesaw area next year.

The Sanctuary Companies, a Kennesaw developer, plans to build Galt Commons, an “agri-community” of 57 homes on 3 1/2 acres along Cherokee Street. Construction for the first 41 homes in the subdivision will get underway later this year, according to the project timeline.

Kennesaw leaders are expected to soon approve the developer’s plan to build 16 more cottage houses adjacent to the first 41 homes. Council members discussed the proposed expansion during a work session Monday night. Mayor Derek Easterling added a final vote to the consent agenda of the board’s Aug. 2 meeting.

Galt Commons will be built with vegetable and flower gardens around each of the new homes. Developers described it as a “garden hamlet” with homes built “to encourage porch-side conversations.”

The development will offer a collection of two- and three-bedroom houses between 1,100 to 1,800 square feet. Some will be designed to resemble modern farmhouses, while others will be constructed in the vein of Victorian-era dollhouses and shotgun homes. They will include sunporches, patios and wrap-around decks.

The homes will range in price from about $320,000 to $470,000, according to a business plan Sanctuary Companies submitted to city officials.

Kennesaw originally approved the first phase of the project in 2018. Construction for that phase of the project is expected to begin Dec. 15. Developers say the first batch of residents should be able to move in by April 1.

The Sanctuary Companies has already sold 23 phase-one homes, and the remaining 18 are expected to sell by September.

The developer anticipates construction on the second phase homes will begin next spring.

A "handy shanty" home planned for the Galt Commons housing development, which is slated to be built near downtown Kennesaw. (Photo courtesy of the Sanctuary Companies)
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