Client Testimonial: Burton
Nestled in the serene valley of the North Georgia Mountains lies Burton, an 82-acre walkable marina village connected to Lake Burton, Georgia’s premier freshwater lake. Boasting an incredible connection to its natural surroundings along with modern luxuries, Burton offers its residents a coveted balance of lake and mountain living. We got the inside scoop from Bill Lynch, principal at PaceLynch Corporation, on what to expect from this exquisite community.
Set the scene for us: What’s the story behind Burton? What differentiates the development from nearby offerings?
There were a series of factors that fell into place to create Burton. Lake Burton lacked a mixed-used, walkable and amenitized option, and because of pandemic home buying trends, a lot of the existing inventory was depleted as people adopted more flexible lifestyles and sought out a stronger connection to nature. We’re building 71 homes that are bordered by a national forest and a mile of trout stream shoreline, along with three fishing ponds, a clubhouse, pool and hot tub, day spa and wellness center, general store, coffee shop and adventure guide services.
As the second home market evolves and people are living near Lake Burton increasingly full time, there’s a demand for services such as a gourmet market, a workout center or day spa. Burton fills that gap, which ties into the story of the development. Burton was originally a town that was under what is now Lake Burton, but it was submerged when Georgia Power bought the land in 1920 to create the lake. That’s where we got our inspiration — if you were to rebuild the town of Burton today, what would it look like? Burton isn’t just homes, but amenities that nearby residents will be able to use and enjoy.
Tell us about your experience working with @properties Development Group to bring Burton to market.
This is the second development we’ve worked on with @properties Development Group (@DG) and we’ve had great experiences both times. They are market specialists in Atlanta specifically noted for being a luxury brand, so they’re a natural fit for developments like Burton. Having worked with the team extensively over the years, we’ve had multiple repeat success stories with @DG. They’re a tremendous group of professionals that really know the market and are always a delight to work with.
How would you describe your buyers for Burton? What attracts them to the lifestyle that Burton offers?
To date, our buyers include families that have previously owned homes on or near Lake Burton and are looking for a simpler lifestyle. Lakehouse living brings its own set of complexities such as maintaining a boat, boathouse and seawall, as well as getting the boat in and out of the water every season. Burton offers more of a turnkey, lock-and-leave lifestyle so residents can relax and enjoy the hiking trails, go fishing, spend a day at the spa — whatever they want to do instead of worrying about the maintenance that typically comes with lake living.
Burton is also uniquely positioned to attract people from Atlanta and beyond. It’s about 90 minutes from the city, and it’s close enough to the airport to fly in from New York or Chicago and arrive home relatively quickly. Lake Burton is historically a second home market. Prior to the pandemic, homeowners were roughly 5–10% full-time and 90–95% part-time, but that balance shifted substantially over the past couple of years. Many of our homeowners have flexible working situations and they love the fact that Burton offers fiber internet so they can be as connected as they want to be.
What role does sustainability play in this project, and how does Burton deliver?
Our development and design team values a green building approach that we refer to as ‘responsible development.’ It's the direction of living, but we also think it’s the right way to develop. The homes will be built to minimize energy leakage, such as high quality insulated windows, and they’ll be prewired for solar and electric vehicles. Each home will also have its own capture system for stormwater. Burton will be the first community in north Georgia to exclusively use geothermal HVAC, saving energy and removing the noisy air handlers from the home. And, we’ll have limited lighting permissions at night to avoid light pollution.
We’re also in the process of restoring the landscape by removing invasive species and replanting with only native materials, using primarily organic approaches for maintenance and minimal chemical usage whenever possible. We’re minimally impacting the land, so we’re not clear cutting like many tract neighborhoods do. Instead, we’re using the topography of the land as it exists today and disturbing it as little as possible.
The homes themselves will be absolutely gorgeous and built to age in place, with cedar shake shingle roofs, beautiful exterior cladding, stone foundations and chimneys, and masonry fireplaces. It’s a very nice product offering.
In what ways does Burton set a new standard for living in Lake Burton?
When I look at my own family and the way we like to vacation and live, walkability is key. It’s something that most buyers are looking for these days. We’re in a unique position as we build Burton, which is connected to the largest marina on the lake along with restaurants, cocktail bars and live entertainment. There are things to do on foot. Traditionally, lake life can be pretty singularly focused — and that’s boating. Here, Lake Burton is a piece of the puzzle, but we’re really more of a mountain community that has access to the lake. We have a host of other things to do. The property is on the trailhead to the Appalachian Trail and completely surrounded by the Chattahoochee National Forest. As you hike toward the Appalachian Trailhead, you pass waterfall after waterfall. You’re surrounded by incredible nature that is uniquely accessible on foot from Burton versus anywhere else on the lake.
