Wire Park factory remake progresses to standalone housing phase

Josh Green

Fri, 05/09/2025 – 12:46

Wire Park, a mixed-use factory redevelopment in Watkinsville, has set the stage for a component you don’t often see with adaptive-reuse projects: large, standalone new homes.

After launching construction four years ago, Wire Park has delivered the Athens area’s first food hall and a unique variety of uses, followed by a townhome section called The Towns at Wire Park. The Electric Avenue site is roughly a 15-minute drive to downtown Athens and the University of Georgia.

Now, a joint venture between veteran Atlanta homebuilder Monte Hewett Homes and Blue Point Construction Southeast has completed groundwork for single-family homesites at Wire Park. The builders are allowing potential homebuyers to reserve lots (for $5,000 deposits), starting in the high $600,000s. Actual construction is expected to kick off in March.

In the works for Wire Park are four single-family home plans—the Azalea, Dogwood, Jasmine, and Laurel—each of them with two elevation options.

Exterior of the Jasmine plan at Wire Park. Courtesy of Monte Hewett

The Dogwood, the smallest of the plans, ranges from 2,514 to 4,024 square feet, with three and ½ bathrooms and a three-car garage. Another option, the Azalea, has a two-car garage and golf-cart extension. So this isn’t exactly space-conscious intown ATL home product.

Site plans call for 46 standalone homes at Wire Park overall.

The nearby townhome section from the same homebuilders will feature 21 units, each with two stories, three bedrooms, and three and ½ bathrooms in 2,170 square feet. Those are priced from the high $500,000s.

Project officials are calling walkability and convenience a selling point for both residential components.

Finished social spaces at the heart of Wire Park today. Wire Park

The Laurel plan. Courtesy of Monte Hewett

Situated near quaint downtown Watkinsville, the 66-acre site functioned for more than 50 years as a wire manufacturing plant (thus, the project’s name) called Southwire.

The old factory’s $80-million redevelopment by Athens-based Gibbs Capital has aimed to retain industrial character while appealing to young families, working professionals, and recent retirees as a pedestrian-friendly place to call home.

The project is considered the area’s first large-scale, adaptive-reuse venture, as designed by Atlanta architect Dan Osborne and Athens-based E+E Architecture.

Beyond the food hall, which is called The Grid at Wire Park, the project features an event amphitheater, 225,000 square feet of commercial, office, and retail space (including the Oconee County Public Library), plus a large greenspace and public park with trails. One unique facet is a roughly 29,000-square-foot indoor baseball training facility called The Yard.

Movie nights, live music, food trucks, and family events and activities are now common, according to project officials.

Swing up to the gallery for a closer look—no gas money required.

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Images

Wire Park’s 1725 Electric Ave., Watkinsville, location in relation to downtown Athens. Google Maps

As seen in summer 2024, an overview of the 66-acre Wire Park grounds and residential development site. Wire Park

Finished social spaces at the heart of Wire Park today. Wire Park

Wire Park

Exterior of the Jasmine plan at Wire Park. Courtesy of Monte Hewett

The Laurel plan. Courtesy of Monte Hewett

Look of the Azalea plan from the street. Courtesy of Monte Hewett

The Dogwood option at Wire Park. Courtesy of Monte Hewett

An overview of residential sections and the development’s central greenspaces—the “epicenter of community programming,” per officials. Courtesy of Gibbs Capital; designs, Dan Osborne; E+E Architecture