Construction has started on an 86-acre, 214-lot, active adult section of the 1,000-acre Sterling on the Lake subdivision that gained final approval last week by the Flowery Branch City Council. 

Grading and development has been underway for about a year, with two model homes expected to open in late November or early December, said Chris Whittaker of Newland Communities, Sterling’s developer. 

“I think they’ll have homes available to close in the first quarter of next year,” he said. 

Final build-out of the project could take place in 2024, Whittaker said. 

The Retreat, as it is called, could become a gated community with privately maintained roads, according to plans. 

“Market studies show that the active adult community desires privacy and the security provided by a community with a security gate,” states a rezoning application from Looper Lake LLC. 

Houston-based David Weekley Homes is the builder of the development, which will feature homes starting in the $300,000s. 

The land where the section is built, known as the Honeycutt Tract, is off Capitola Farm Road near Scarlet Way. 

The street entering the property would be Welcome Road. The Retreat would not have access to any other roadways within Sterling on the Lake, but there will be a “pedestrian link … to the rest of the community,” according to the application. 

The homeowners association for the section would maintain the gate and roads, the application states. 

Otherwise, the property would be developed “consistent with the existing areas” of Sterling, which has been permitted to have up to 2,000 homes. The main entrance to Sterling is off Spout Springs Road.