By Bill Lewis
| For The Tennessean
Kevin and Trisha Preece were looking for a quiet neighborhood and good schools for their children when they moved to the area from Salt Lake City. They surprised their friends by choosing Goodlettsville.
“Everyone’s surprised to learn that we live up here,” said Kevin Preece, a physician at Nashville’s Veterans Administration hospital near Vanderbilt.
They love the area so much that when they needed more room for their growing family, they decided to have a house built in Copper Creek, a new neighborhood inside Goodlettsville’s city limits.
The Preeces are not alone. This city of about 16,000 people, which straddles the Davidson-Sumner county line a few miles north of downtown Nashville, is seeing new interest from homebuyers. Some, such as the Preeces, are families attracted by Sumner County’s schools.
Others, such as Jim and Linda Cross, are downsizing from a larger home. They bought a condominium in the Cottage Grove subdivision, which is being developed by Goodall Homes, one of the region’s most active builders.
“Five years ago, if you’d asked if we would move to a condominium, I’d have thought you were crazy,” Linda Cross said.
She and her husband moved from another Sumner County city, Hendersonville, where they had lived for 25 years.
“Goodlettsville has a lot of small town and some country,” Linda Cross said. “You’re not in the center of the city.”
Measured growth
Goodlettsville’s growth has not been as rapid as some other suburban communities around Nashville, such as Mt. Juliet in Wilson County or Spring Hill south of Franklin, which decided to conduct a special census to count new residents who have arrived since 2010. But more people are discovering the advantages of a Goodlettsville address, said Bob Goodall, president of Goodall Homes.
The company builds homes in Davidson, Sumner, Wilson and Williamson counties.
“Goodlettsville is a hidden jewel,” Goodall said.
Commuters such as Kevin Preece have fast access to the city on Interstate 65. RiverGate Mall is inside the city, Sumner County’s schools are an attraction for families and there is still a lot of undeveloped countryside, Goodall said.
“There is a market and a demand” for new homes such as those in Cottage Grove, he said. “We’re down to our last 20 home sites.”
Condominiums geared toward empty-nesters and downsizers are new to the Goodlettsville market, but Cottage Grove is attracting residents who, like the Crosses, already live in the area and don’t want to leave.
“People go to church there, go to the grocery there. Their friends live nearby. That’s where they want to be,” Goodall said.
Cottage Grove’s features include master suites and a second bedroom on the main level, private courtyards, two-car garages, walking trails and a clubhouse with a fitness center and a social kitchen. The Twelve Stones Crossing golf course and Old Hickory Lake are nearby.
Condominiums in the neighborhood range from about 1,400 to 2,000 square feet. The average price is about $230,000, Goodall said.
Not everyone at Cottage Grove is a retiree or downsizer. Several younger homeowners have been attracted by the “lock and go” convenience of condo living, where someone else takes care of yard work and exterior maintenance, Linda Cross said.
Value, location
At Copper Creek, Bonner Builders and Paran Homes are constructing custom and spec homes on one-third-acre lots, said Lauren Evans Sullivan, a Realtor with Bob Parks Realty, the community’s exclusive agency.
Development began in 2006 but was temporarily slowed by the recession. Ten homes have been sold in the 136-acre community, and several new homes are planned or under construction, she said.
“We’ve seen major interest since this has come back to life,” Sullivan said.
Copper Creek’s homes feature hardwoods and granite, tile, stainless appliances, crown molding and bronze hardware. Exteriors are brick, fiber cement planking and stone, she said.
Sullivan recently listed a to-be-built home in Copper Creek for $342,900 on the HomeFinder.com website. The house has 2,999 square feet.
Copper Creek is growing again because homebuyers are attracted by Goodlettsville’s combination of value and location, Sullivan said.
“It’s in the middle of everything,” Sullivan said, “with gorgeous views.”