Hermitage combines the best of city, country life Suburb to east hot with builders Jun. 23, 2013 Andy and Charlene Garcia travel for work, so living a couple of I-40 exits from Nashville International Airport was a requirement when they bought a new house. Having two lakes, wooded green spaces and shopping nearby was a nice bonus. The Garcias own a home in the Cooks Landing subdivision in Hermitage, a fast-growing suburb on Nashville’s east side that is attracting new attention from home builders. “You’re still in the city but feel like you’re in the country,” Andy Garcia said of Cooks Landing, about a mile from Percy Priest Lake. A few miles to the north is Old Hickory Lake. Shopping, dining and entertainment at Providence Marketplace are 15 minutes away in Mt. Juliet. Downtown Nashville is a 20-minute drive — depending on traffic — or a short ride on the Music City Star commuter train. Home builders understand Hermitage’s appeal. Citizens Homes, the company that built the Garcias’ home, is expanding in Cooks Landing. Phillips Builders is building in the Reserve at Stone Hall, a community adjacent to a city-owned green space that could become a park. The Jones Co. is developing 63 additional home sites in Lakeside Meadows, about a mile from Old Hickory Lake, and the Bridgewater subdivision. Frank Batson Homes is also building in Bridgewater, a master planned community with a pool and walking trails. Beazer Homes is active in Riverwood, and Fox Ridge Homes is quickly selling its last phase of home sites in the Towering Oaks subdivision. Because of Cooks Landing’s lakeside location, three-car garages have become a popular custom feature even though most residents have only two cars, said Debbie Williams, a sales agent for Citizens Homes. “If we need to extend the garage for a boat, we’ll do that,” she said. Hermitage attracts a wide range of buyers, including professionals who work at Summit Medical Center or commute downtown, families with children at the popular Ruby Major Elementary School, and downsizers. A number of buyers grew up in Hermitage and don’t want to live anywhere else, said Peder Jensen, director of sale for The Jones Co. “Hermitage is close to recreation, shopping, the airport is right there. Everything is just a quick jaunt down the road,” said Jensen. Those attractions convinced Alex and Emily Stephens to move from Brentwood to Cooks Landing, becoming the first homeowners there in December 2011. Some friends questioned the move, but Alex Stephens, who was raised in Hermitage and “grew up on Percy Priest,” understood the area’s advantages. “It’s suburban living but you’re 15 minutes from Green Hills, Nashville Shores is close. The airport is 10 minutes away,” he said. For Stephens, a pharmacist at Summit Medical Center, work is a seven-minute commute in the opposite direction from rush-hour traffic. Emily Stephens, a Vanderbilt pharmacist, catches the Music City Star 10 minutes from their house. From downtown she takes a shuttle to Vanderbilt. “She just takes her Kindle and reads. No traffic, no gas,” Alex Stephens said. In addition to its other advantages, Hermitage is a great value, he said. “We think we have an incredible home. It would have cost one and a half times as much to build new in Brentwood or Franklin,” he said. The Garcias love the area, too. Before they bought the home in Cooks Landing in October, they lived in another Hermitage subdivision. Walks to lakeside picnic areas are now part of their fitness routine, as are swims in the in-ground pool they installed at their house. Charlene Garcia, who works from home, does have to deal with interruptions — not from traffic noise or other city sounds, though. “Her office is in back,” Andy Garcia said, “so she gets to see the turkeys and the deer and wildlife.” Written by Bill Lewis For The Tennessean
Posted on: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 18:53:32 +0000
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