Anyone live in Village at Deaton Creek

[citrusgal]

Anyone know what the water situation is in Hoschton/Deaton Creek? Lake Lanier was in pretty bad shape last time I heard. With all the development north of Atlanta, can that water supply sustain the current and future population? Deaton Creek may be a nice community, but would it be foolish to consider it with the water problems?

[fmarietta]

We love it at Deaton Creek!!! The lake has been slowly recovering during the past few months, after three years of drought. The Army Corps of Engineers has gone to court to allow them to retain more of Georgia's rainfall in Lake Lanier, but the outcome is in doubt. The good news is that Lanier has been rising with the recent rainy weather. With normal rainfall, Lanier has plenty of water for all three states. Water is a contentious issue, with Georgia fighting for its water, Alabama demanding water for power, and Florida insisting on water to flow to its seafood industry. Even with the drought, our turf lawn, installed thirteen months ago, survived, and is looking good.

[citrusgal]

Thanks fmarietta for your reply. We are thinking of making a trip to Deaton Creek to see the property and lifestyle for ourselves. Since the water situation was a concern, it is good to know that it is changing for the positive. We certainly have our issues here in Florida, too, and didn't want to trade our water problem for one in Georgia. Do you know if Del Webb owns the land the development sits on? One of their developments we liked here in Ocala "shares" land with another development which we did not see as a positive. Thanks for any other info you would like to share about D.C.

[fmarietta]

You ask an interesting question about the land ownership. After we moved to Deaton Creek, I was told by several people that all the land is owned by the developer, Vintage Properties, until Pulte actually gets a contract on a specific lot. Then that lot is sold to Pulte by the developer, Vintage Properties, and Pulte then proceeds with grading, construction and sale.
Vintage is owned by one of our own residents, who lives in the center of the community. I have also been told that Vintage has an option on a large tract adjacent to Deaton Creek's north side.
We looked at several Active Adult communities in four states before settling on Deaton Creek. Our only regret is that we couldn't move here sooner!
Pulte currently has approval to fill out the current parcel of land with up to 1300 homes, and I anticipate that they would easily win approval for the northen option, if they wish. One thing you might like to know is that Northeast Georgia Medical Center has built an Urgent Care center next to Deaton Creek, and they have plans to build a regional hospital nearby. Just about anyone you meet here will tell you it is the best move they have ever made!
Pulte built a beautiful clubhouse in the center of the development, and it is a center of life for the community. You can find a lot more info at delwebb.com, if you wish.
Plans to build a boutique shopping area across the highway south of Deaton Creek are on hold because of the lousy economy, but we still have two grocery stores within a couple of miles of the community.

[citrusgal]

Thanks for the new information. Just a couple of questions. Are your cable, water and utility providers the same as the ones outside of D.C.? The development I mentioned here in Florida has "private" providers that are owned and and offered by the community that shares part of Del Webb's property. I think "national" name providers might be preferable, but wonder what the situation is in D.C. Have you heard anything about the financial stability of Pulte as far as their being able to support the building they are doing now? Last but not least, are you aware of any visitation programs offered to out-of-staters by D.C. to "sample" the community by staying on property?

As always, I appreciate your insights. So glad that you have found your little slice of paradise!

[fmarietta]

Sewer (Hall County), cable (Comcast), water (City of Gainesville), electricity (Jackson EMC) and gas (Buford Gas) are all monopolies. The Georgia Public Service Commission is an elected board which supposedly looks out after our interests in approving utility rates in monopoly areas. Comcast and Dish compete for satellite TV business. All of these also serve surrounding neighborhoods. The WSJ says Pulte lost over $300 million last year, and they recently merged with Centex Homes. We are all concerned for Pulte here, but not yet alarmed.