Amazon, homebuilder introduce an entire Alexa-driven community north of Atlanta

In a new partnership designed to create a “smart home lifestyle,” Amazon and homebuilder Lennar have come together to launch Amazon Experience Centers, home communities outfitted with smart-home technology so residents can “live life with hands-free convenience,” according to Amazon.

Georgia’s first Amazon Experience Center is taking shape in Cumming in the Mountain Crest community, which, when completed, will feature 674 homes divided up into different neighborhoods based on housing structure.

For instance, Stablegate is a collection of townhomes ranging from 2,300 square feet to 2,500 square feet, with prices in the high $200,000s.

In Bridlewood, ranch homes are available starting with 1,683 square feet and reaching 2,117 square feet, with pricing in the low $300,000s.

The Lennar real estate site doesn’t say much about the home’s building features, but instead focuses on the Amazon capabilities found within.

Every home will be outfitted with an entire suite of Amazon products, including an Echo Show (video screen), Echo Dot, Sonos One (wireless speaker), Baldwin Evolved Smart Lock, Honeywell Lyric Round Wi-Fi Thermostat 2.0, Lutron Smart Bridge Pro (smart shades, lights, etc.), Ring Video Doorbell, and Samsung Smartthings Hub.

Neighborhood amenities will include a large, chalet-chic clubhouse with Olympic-sized swimming pool, second splash pool with double-loop water slide, tennis and pickleball courts, enclosed children’s play park, and personal residence yard maintenance.

With 120 homes sold thus far, Amazon and Lennar say these offerings are geared toward the way people are living today.

“Homebuyers appreciate that the technology is built right in to the home so they can just move in and experience a new way of living,” says Casey Hill, Lennar’s division president for Atlanta. “Lennar is great at building homes, and Amazon is great at bringing them to life. We share an obsession for great customer experiences, so this is a natural fit.”

In fact, Hill says this approach will be the future of homebuilding for his company. “This is how Lennar will build homes going forward: designed for the way people live,” he says. “Our goal is to upgrade our buyers’ lives.”

While Lennar, and possibly Amazon, will continue to build homes outfitted with smart home technology, the real question is if and when other homebuilders will follow suit.

Could a potential partnership between Google and another homebuilder be on the horizon? Time will tell.

• North of Atlanta, call this Cumming mountaintop your own for a mere $9.5M [Curbed]