If you've driven up GA 400 lately, you already know North Forsyth County isn't the quiet country it used to be. The latest sign of that is Hayden Brook, a new Century Communities neighborhood in Cumming, which had its grand opening set for Saturday, Oct. 17.
Century announced the community on Oct. 14 in a release on its investor site. The builder planned a ribbon-cutting and real estate agent preview for Thursday, Oct. 15, ahead of the public grand opening, which was scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with model tours, refreshments and a giveaway.
Big houses on big lots
Hayden Brook is planned for 105 homesites, which Century calls estate-sized, built out over three phases. Homes start at $688,990, and the company is pitching the neighborhood as priced from the upper $600s.
There are three floor plans, all two-story, and they run large:
- The Birch: 2,987 square feet, 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.
- The Sapling: 3,403 square feet, 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.
- The Hazel: 3,829 square feet, 6 bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms.
Every plan has a bedroom on the main level and a two-car garage. Some plans add a study, a loft or a game room. That main-floor bedroom is worth noticing. Century put it in every plan, not just one, which makes each of these houses work for a parent moving in, a guest who can't do stairs, or a home office with a door that shuts.
"Hayden Brook gives homebuyers room to grow, with estate-sized homesites and modern floor plans that include main-level bedrooms, plus flexible living spaces like studies, lofts and gamerooms," said Tom Bowers, Century's Atlanta Division president.
The neighborhood will also have a pool, a pavilion with restrooms, a playground and a mail kiosk, plus a second amenity area with a pocket park and trails. Those are listed as future amenities, so they're still to be built.
The model home is at 3910 Peach Blossom Lane in Cumming. Century says the community is about three miles from GA 400 and about two miles from the shops and restaurants at Matt Town Center. The Crossing at Coal Mountain, a retail and dining center that's still on the way, is less than two miles off.
Kids at Hayden Brook are assigned to Coal Mountain Elementary, North Forsyth Middle and North Forsyth High. Century says both the middle and high schools are about 1.4 miles away. Matt Community Park, roughly three miles away, has turf soccer fields, a playground, trails and tennis courts, and Lake Lanier and Sawnee Mountain Preserve are nearby too.
One more thing Century is leaning into is selling homes online. The company says buyers can purchase any of its available homes in metro Atlanta through its online homebuying process. Century describes itself as one of the country's largest homebuilders, working in 16 states and more than 45 markets. The company handles the whole chain itself, from buying and entitling land to building and selling the homes, and in some markets it also offers mortgages, title and insurance through its own subsidiaries, including Inspire Home Loans and Parkway Title. For a buyer, that can mean one company from contract to closing. For a trade partner, it means one builder calling the shots on schedule and scope from start to finish.
A look at the numbers
For the trades, the square footage is the story. Even the smallest plan here is nearly 3,000 square feet, and the biggest has six bedrooms and five and a half baths. That's a lot of plumbing fixtures, a lot of drywall and a lot of roof per house. Spread across 105 homes and three phases, that adds up to a long stretch of steady work in one spot. It's the kind of job where a crew can stage once and keep rolling instead of chasing scattered starts all over the county.
Why it matters for Contractors
Production builders like Century run on schedules and repeat plans, and three floor plans across 105 lots means crews who learn these houses can get faster and more profitable as the phases roll on. Framers, roofers, plumbers, electricians, HVAC installers, drywall hangers, painters, flooring installers and landscapers should all take note, and so should whoever is putting in the pool and pavilion. The larger plans with five and six bedrooms carry more bathrooms and more mechanical work per house than a typical starter home. If you want a piece of North Forsyth's growth, reach out to the builder's Atlanta division about getting set up as a trade partner while the first phase is still young.