In October 2016, Bell and Niesse opened Hills & Hamlets Bookshop in a small, planned community called Serenbe, in Palmetto, Ga., about 40 minutes from Underground Books and 20 minutes from Atlanta's international airport. The Serenbe community is centered on and planned by the Serenbe Institute, a nonprofit focusing on sustainable urban living, environmentalism and the arts. At the center of the community is a 25-acre organic farm, as well as an outdoor theater called the Serenbe Playhouse. There is also an Artist in Residence program that brings a new artist to Serenbe roughly every four weeks. Currently the community has about 400 full-time residents and is projected to grow to more than 1,000; it is a frequent day-trip destination for people in the Atlanta area.