Hot Springs, Virginia – May 25, 2009. . . The Valley Conservation Council recently awarded Homestead Preserve the 2009 Better Models for Development Award for “Excellence in Historic Preservation” in recognition of its restoration and adaptive reuse of the historic Old Dairy in Warm Springs, Virginia.
“This is a beautiful and comprehensive rehabilitation of a rural agricultural complex,” says Sara Hollberg, Valley Conservation Council (VCC) Planner. “The dairy barns and silos have been an iconic part of the Bath County landscape for generations, and it is wonderful to see their future secured.”
Homestead Preserve completed restoration of the seven historic structures that now make up the Old Dairy Community Center in 2007, at the cost of about $6 million. Today Old Dairy is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also a designated Virginia Historic Landmark. The restored agricultural complex has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions over the past two years, including an award for Outstanding Adaptive Use from the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA) last year and receipt of the 2009 Palladio Award for historic restoration.
“We are incredibly honored by this award,” says Don Killoren, Co-General Manager of Homestead Preserve. “To receive recognition from such a respected conservation group as the VCC for our thoughtful development approach and restoration efforts in Bath County means a great deal to us.”
VCC recognized ten projects this year that serve as models for development in the Shenandoah Valley region. All represent ways to grow that respect local character, create livable communities, complement historic resources, and conserve natural assets. The awards include projects from Winchester, Berryville, Woodstock, and New Market as well as Warren, Augusta, Rockbridge, Bath, and Botetourt counties.
- “The issue is not whether we will continue to grow, but where and how we want to grow,” says John Eckman, VCC’s Executive Director. “These projects prove that development not only can fit the character of our traditional communities but also add to it.”
Homestead Preserve developers and Celebration Associates partners Charles Adams and Don Killoren were instrumental in the design and development of Celebration, Florida, near Orlando, which was hailed as the “Most Advanced Community in the Country from 1996-1998” by The Guinness Book of World Records. Celebration Associates has for the past ten years been a partner in developing the community of Baxter Village in South Carolina, and is also a partner leading the real estate development projects at Bundoran Farm in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Mt. Washington Hotel at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire. Crosland, LLC, of Charlotte, NC is a financial partner in Homestead Preserve, Bundoran Farm and Mount Washington Resort. Crosland’s President and CEO Todd Mansfield was also directly involved in the development and success of Celebration, Florida. Crosland, LLC, is one of the Southeast’s leading and most diversified real estate companies.
For more information on Homestead Preserve sales, call 877-213-6491. For media information, call Deborah Huso at (540) 474-5147, or e-mail drhuso@writewellmedia.com.
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