770-364-3943
St. Vincent de Paul Cottages of providence, home
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Artist's rendering of the cottages
ARTIST'S RENDERING

Seventy-four homes on twelve acres.

The Cottages of providence is a planned neighborhood of small, permanent, individually leased homes in Cumming, Georgia, with on-site support services and a community center at its heart.

Here is everything we know so far, including what we do not know yet.

The project

Location
Approximately 12 acres off Lanier 400 Parkway, Cumming, Georgia
Land
Owned by the City of Cumming, provided through a long-term ground lease
Homes
74 cottages, plus a community center
Each home
Approximately 400 square feet. Kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom, front porch.
Construction
Modular, on permanent foundations, built to City of Cumming code
Ownership
The Cottages of providence, LLC, 100% nonprofit, with its financial and operational activities reported on the Form 990 of St. Vincent de Paul Georgia
Management
A professional property management company, with on-site maintenance
Architect
To be determined
Builder
To be determined
Estimated development budget
$12 million: $2.5 million site work, $8.5 million homes and furnishings, $1 million capitalized operating reserve. Preliminary.
Groundbreaking
To be determined
First residents
To be determined

Four hundred square feet, a front porch, and a community.

Architect's floor plan of one cottage: a front porch opening into a combined living room and kitchen, with a full bathroom, a bedroom, and a closet at the back
Floor plan of one cottage: porch, living room, kitchen, full bathroom, bedroom, and closet. Architect's plan.

A kitchen you can cook a real meal in. A living room. A bathroom of your own. A bedroom with a door that closes. And a front porch, which is not a decorative choice.

Each cottage is approximately 400 square feet. The final plan may come in slightly under that.

Porches face shared space. Shared space is where neighbors meet, and neighbors are the difference between housing and a home. Every organization that has built this well has learned the same thing: the building is necessary and the neighborhood is what actually works.

Porches face the street and each other.
ARTIST'S RENDERING
Porches face the street and each other. Artist's rendering, not a photograph.

The site

Aerial photograph of wooded land along Lanier 400 Parkway in Cumming, with a blue star marking where the Cottages of providence will be built
The star marks where the Cottages of providence will be built, on land along Lanier 400 Parkway that the City of Cumming is providing. Aerial imagery: USDA National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2023. The imagery predates the Lanier 400 Parkway extension, so the road appears narrower than it is today.
Artist's rendering of the site plan
ARTIST'S RENDERING

Site plan concept: 74 cottages, a community center, and shared green space. Artist's rendering, not a photograph. Final layout follows engineering and City approval.

Twelve acres off Lanier 400 Parkway, inside the City of Cumming. The land belongs to the City, which is providing it through a long-term ground lease.

Where the project stands

  1. Done:
    Advisory Committee formed
  2. Done:
    Site identified: 12 acres off Lanier 400 Parkway
  3. Done:
    Cumming City Council votes 5 to 0 in support of the project's application for the Georgia Rehoused grantHear what was said →
    August 18, 2026
  4. Not yet:
    Georgia Rehoused grant application submitted
    To be confirmed
  5. Not yet:
    Ground lease executed with the City of Cumming
    To be confirmed
  6. Not yet:
    Architect and builder engaged
    To be confirmed
  7. Not yet:
    Groundbreaking
    To be confirmed

Updated August 2026. We post what has actually happened, including the months when nothing does.

What it costs, and who pays

The preliminary development budget is an estimated $12 million.

Site work: design, engineering, grading, water, sewer, electricity, roads, parking, landscaping
$2.5 million (estimated)
74 homes and furnishings
$8.5 million (estimated)
Capitalized operating reserve, set aside at the outset for operating costs
$1 million (estimated)
Total development
$12 million (estimated)

The site work figure is a planning estimate. We do not have a contractor's quote yet, and we will publish the number again when we do. The homes figure reflects current modular pricing and will be firmed up when the builder is engaged.

Beyond that reserve, staff, supportive services, insurance, and operating costs are budgeted separately and funded on an ongoing basis.

Operating and replacement reserves will be capitalized at the outset, so that HVAC systems, water heaters, roofing, and other major systems are funded for replacement before they fail. Building the neighborhood is half the promise. Keeping it is the other half.

How it's funded Ways to give
Two volunteers working through paperwork together at a laptop

Who is building it

The Cottages of providence is a project of St. Vincent de Paul Georgia, which has served Georgia for more than 120 years and Forsyth County through the volunteers who take the calls.

It is not ours alone to build. A neighborhood of this size takes a county: parishes and congregations, trades and suppliers, employers, civic clubs, families, and neighbors who simply want this to exist. Everyone is invited to the table, and there is a place at it for whatever you are able to bring. That is not a fundraising posture. It is how the Society has always worked, and it is how 74 homes actually get built.

About us

Contact

Kathy Johnson
St. Vincent de Paul Georgia, Forsyth County
770-364-3943
[email protected]
Mariel Risner-Sivley
St. Vincent de Paul Georgia
404-713-5970
[email protected]

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St. Vincent de Paul Georgia
An initiative of St. Vincent de Paul Georgia.