By Mark Woolsey

Both new, innovative senior housing and a name change are on tap for Presbyterian Homes of Georgia’s campus in Mableton.

Officials say a $100 million expansion and transformation is underway at the older adult community, which is being recast as Presbyterian Village Cobb and is dropping the Austell reference (Presbyterian Village has an Austell postal address, which was reflected in its former name).

(It’s) to reflect our broadened focus, if you will, “ says Alex Patterson, President and CEO of   Presbyterian Homes of Georgia. ”We serve people from all over the county.”

To that end, 45 new single-family cottage homes will be constructed, and senior dining and wellness facilities will also be upgraded.

Patterson says, “We feel in the world people are thankfully healthier than they’ve ever been. They are making it much further into life in an independent style setting than they used to be able to do. And we want to respond to that demand.”

He says the cottages will be built so people can age in place as easily as possible, with features such as wider doorways and zero-entry thresholds.

In a news release, officials say the new residences will also feature full kitchens, private garages, covered porches and other amenities. They say demand for such detached older adult housing is growing overall.

“Our cottage-style senior living is about peace of mind,” says Patterson. He says that, in addition to allowing seniors to age in place, residents will have access to the full continuum of care, including on-site physicians and rehab services that can help ease transitions to settings such as assisted living or memory care.

Officials say the development will also confer a good deal of economic benefit to Cobb County, including the $100 million capital investment, creation of 75 or more permanent jobs and at least 200 construction jobs generated during the building phase.

Patterson says they’re starting the pre-sale process for the new homes and anticipate it will take several months to complete. He thinks a roughly one-year buildout will follow that.

They say early interest has been good with several attendees putting down refundable $500 deposits with gaining access to the new homes in mind. That happened during a kickoff event Nov. 13.

The 60-acre campus in Mableton is not by any means the sum of Presbyterian’s footprint in Georgia. They also operate a number of so-called Life Plan communities in Cobb County, Athens and Quitman and HUD-supported facilities in Buckhead, Decatur and Swainsboro.

The nonprofit and faith-based ministry was founded in 1949.