Monica Olsen and Steve Nygren go into detail about the pivotal moment in Steve and Serenbe’s beginning. Steve and his daughter, Garnie, came upon a bulldozer taking out trees while they were running trails on their 300 acres. Steve worried about urban sprawl in their paradise and immediately made calls to land owners in Chattahoochee Hills, asking them to call if they ever decided to sell. The three largest parcels that touched the Nygren farmhouse had to sell for different reasons, and in 5 weeks, Steve had another 600 acres under contract.
Steve realized he wasn’t thinking large enough; that he’d have to affect legislation. He then brought 500 Chattahoochee Hill Country landowners together to change the zoning, thus changing how this area would be developed.
Questions Answered
What is the pivotal moment that changed Steve Nygren’s trajectory?
How many acres did Steve have before he saw the bulldozer?
Why did seeing a bulldozer make make you think of a housing development and urban sprawl?
How did opening a restaurant in Roswell influence your decision to buy additional land?
When you were purchasing land in Chattahoochee Hills, did you know what you were going to do with it the whole time?
Are people’s preconceived notions about how to development part of the problem?
Why do you think people weren’t developing in an environmentally-friendly way (like Serenbe)?
What are some of the global policies developers weren’t thinking about?
People + Organizations Mentioned
Peachtree Road Race
Prairie Crossing
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Robert Davis
Seaside
TIME Magazine
Urban Land Institute
Victoria Ranney
The White House Council on the Environment
Amory Lovins
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
Environmental Protection Division
Garnie Nygren
George Ranney, Jr.
Georgia Institute of Technology
Jim Durrett
Main Street America
O’Hare International Airport
Paul Hawken
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Serenbe Stories is a podcast about making an impact, building a better life, and the extraordinary power of nature and community. Follow Serenbe on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
