The Homestead Engages Celebration Associates to Undertake a Study on Restoration of the Jefferson Pools

Hot Springs, Virginia – September 11, 2008. . . The Homestead recently engaged Celebration Associates, the developers of Homestead Preserve, to perform a study on possible options for restoring the historic Jefferson Pools in Warm Springs. The mineral pools, which have been used for their healing properties for centuries, are owned by The Homestead, the landmark resort in Hot Springs.

The two pools are enclosed by men’s and women’s bathhouses, constructed in 1761 and 1836, respectively. “It’s very important to us and our guests that we preserve the historic attributes of these structures for future generations while still allowing visitors to take advantage of their use,” says Sean Maddock, Vice President and General Manager for The Homestead.

The Homestead approached Celebration Associates several months ago and asked for the developers’ advice and assistance in restoring the Jefferson Pools. “Celebration Associates has a history of preserving special landscapes and historic places,” explains Maddock, “so we decided to take advantage of their expertise and The Homestead’s close working relationship with Homestead Preserve to see if we could work together to preserve the pools while still keeping them open to our guests.”

In 2007, Homestead Preserve completed restoration of the 1920s Old Dairy complex in Warm Springs, which is across the road from the Jefferson Pools. The restoration earned Old Dairy a listing on the National Register of Historic Places as well as the 2008 Outstanding Adaptive Use Award from the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA).

“Given the experience we already have in restoring local historic structures, we were more than happy to serve in an advisory role to The Homestead as they explore options the Jefferson Pools,” says Homestead Preserve Co-General Manager and Celebration Associates Partner Don Killoren.

Once Celebration Associates has completed its study of the pools, The Homestead will announce more concrete restoration plans.

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, Inc. 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, Inc. is one of the Southeast’s leading and most diversified real estate companies.

For more information on Homestead Preserve sales, call 877-224-9477. To schedule media interviews with Celebration Associates developers, call Deborah Huso at (540) 474-5147, or e-mail drhuso@writewellmedia.com.

High Country Native Mark Harrill Honored as a “Visionary Developer” as Echota Sales Continue to Grow

Boone, North Carolina – September 11, 2008. . . Mark Harrill, Owner of Foscoe Companies, was recently named one of “5 Visionary Developers” in the 5^th anniversary issue of Mountain Homes Southern Style.

Harrill has been responsible for creating the North Carolina High Country’s highest selling resort community of Echota just outside Boone. Despite lagging real estate sales elsewhere in the country, Echota has closed on 66 real estate transactions in 2008, in keeping with its record last year of 107 closed sales.

“It was no surprise to the staff and owners here at Echota that Mark was honored as one of the southern mountains’ most visionary developers,” says Will Sears, Director of Sales for Echota. “As a native of the High Country, Mark understands the unique challenges of mountain development and has worked hard to build homes that both enhance and preserve the natural landscape.”

Echota offerings, which range from condominiums to large single-family homes, provide owners access to pools, fitness centers, spa amenities, and hiking trails in prices ranging from $300,000 to just over $700,000. “Our price point and the fact that we offer maintenance-free, turnkey homes is the reason we’ve kept selling in an otherwise slow market,” Sears adds. “And because all our amenities are in place and paid for, Echota has been extremely attractive to risk-averse buyers.”

Harrill shared space with several other visionary developers in the fall 2008 issue of Mountain Homes, including Jim Anthony of The Cliffs Communities in North and South Carolina and Mike Ross of the Rarity Communities in Tennessee.

Echota is located about two hours from Charlotte and three hours from Raleigh-Durham. Echota Developer Mark Harrill is President of Foscoe Companies. He is the leading developer of second home resort communities in the North Carolina High Country. He has been developing mountain property in the area for more than two decades and has demonstrated a commitment to blending architecture into the landscape.

For information on Echota sales, call 866-283-9420. For media inquiries, call Deborah Huso at (540) 474-5147, or e-mail drhuso@writewellmedia.com.

Homestead Preserve One of Many Celebration Associates Communities Making Real Environmental Commitments

Views like this one at Homestead Preserve will remain pristine for future generations.

Hot Springs, Virginia – August 20, 2008. . . In Bath County, Virginia, preservation has not only taken precedence over profit; it has also created it. Since it first began offering homes and home sites for sale in 2005, Homestead Preserve has sold a third of the sites in its 450-home conservation community in Hot Springs. Situated on 2,300 acres in Virginia’s Allegheny Mountains, Homestead Preserve’s acreage could have supported as many as 2,700 homes.

Instead, in a rare and daring move, Homestead Preserve developers, Celebration Associates based in Charlottesville, elected to preserve the natural landscape for future generations. Of their original 11,500-acre purchase in 2002, they elected to sell 9,250 acres on and around Warm Springs Mountain to The Nature Conservancy and, in October 2004, placed an additional 935 acres into permanent conservation easements with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. The developers have also established a “building envelope” on each individual home site to further protect the integrity of the landscape. These actions will insure that no more than 325 acres, or less than 3% of the original 11,500-acres purchased, will ever be affected by development.

While many developers make cursory nods to conservation by putting a few dozen acres in “green space,” Celebration Associates has a long history of developing communities that demonstrate a real and lasting commitment to environmental stewardship. Celebration Associates founding partners Charles Adams and Don Killoren both made their mark on conservation development and New Urbanism, helping spawn a nationwide trend, when they led planning and design of the town of Celebration, Florida in the mid 1990s.

Currently, the partners are at work on new conservation communities up and down the East Coast, including Bundoran Farm near Charlottesville, Virginia. A 2,300-acre working farm, Bundoran will remain largely intact with over 90% of its acreage protected from development for perpetuity. Bundoran Farm is one of only 47 members worldwide of Audubon International’s Gold Signature Sanctuary Program.

Celebration Associates is also involved in the development of a mixed-use, master-planned community adjacent to the landmark Mount Washington Resort in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where 600 acres of a 922-acre landscape will be left to the course of nature.

“We hope our communities will set an example,” says Charles Adams, “and show that when developers emphasize preservation, they actually enhance the value of their property. We’re not only preserving natural landscapes for future generations, we’re satisfying a desire that families have to be in a place where natural heritage still has meaning.”

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, Inc. 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, Inc. is one of the Southeast’s leading and most diversified real estate companies.

For more information on Homestead Preserve sales, call 877-224-9477. To schedule media interviews with Celebration Associates developers, call Deborah Huso at (540) 474-5147, or e-mail drhuso@writewellmedia.com.

Escape the Dog Days of August in the North Carolina High Country

Boone, North Carolina – August 12, 2008. . . At the turn of the last century, the North Carolina High Country was a favorite summer retreat of wealthy lowlanders looking to escape the heat and humidity of the coast and Piedmont. Many built elaborate “cottages” in villages like Blowing Rock, where they enjoyed summers of mountain scenery, cool nights, and breezy days.

Contemporary visitors to the High Country continue to flock to this region in the heat of summer. In fact, visitors spend as much as half a billion dollars annually in the High Country, according to statistics from the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. And many still seek extended stays in their own second homes or in long-term rentals.

Despite the recent softening of the real estate market, Vice President of Sales and Development with Echota, the High Country’s highest selling resort community, says, “Second home sales remain strong this year. Echota has closed on over 50 real estate transactions this year almost exclusively with buyers who will use their condominiums or single-family residences as second homes.” Sears indicates that vacation rentals in Echota are strong this year as well, showing no decrease from last summer’s figures. “With climbing gas prices, people are taking their summer getaways close to home,” adds Sears. “The North Carolina High Country is three hours or less away from all of North Carolina’s major metropolitan areas.”

And there’s no shortage of attractions in the High Country. The region straddles the Blue Ridge Parkway and offers access to Grandfather Mountain, the Linn Cove Viaduct, and Moses H. Cone Memorial Park. Endless opportunities for shopping, dining, and festivals await visitors to Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and surrounding villages, including three different Mast General Store locations, and families with children continue to enjoy Tweetsie Railroad. Meanwhile, An Appalachian Summer Festival provides season-long performing and visual arts activities.

Echota is located about two hours from Charlotte and three hours from Raleigh-Durham. Echota Developer Mark Harrill is President of Foscoe Realty and Development. He is the leading developer of second home resort communities in the North Carolina High Country. He has been developing mountain property in the area for more than two decades and has demonstrated a commitment to blending architecture into the landscape. Echota properties range in cost from the $300,000s to $700,000.

For information on Echota sales or rentals, call 866-283-9420. For media inquiries on Echota or the North Carolina High Country, call Deborah Huso at (540) 474-5147, or e-mail drhuso@writewellmedia.com.

Versant is One of Only 47 Audubon Gold Signature Sanctuary Program Members in the World

Versant's streamside greenway trail

Asheville, NC – July 23, 2008. . . Versant, the new high elevation, European-themed community overlooking downtown Asheville, has committed to membership in the internationally recognized Audubon Gold Signature Sanctuary Program. Versant is one of only 47 members in the Gold program worldwide.

The Audubon Gold Signature Sanctuary Program is the highest level program Audubon International offers to new planning and development projects seeking certification of environmental stewardship and long-term natural resource management.

“Versant wanted to be able to develop their property correctly, and they wanted certification that they had been responsible to the environment,” says Beth Bailey, a partner with Oldham Planning & Design, which is serving as Versant’s land planner. Bailey says the two streams on Versant’s property feed into the French Broad River, and ensuring the preservation of the streams’ water quality as well as maintaining the wildlife habitat around them were important goals for developer Robert Richey.

Versant has taken extensive steps to properly protect the landscape from environmental impacts, one of which is creating a 42-acre, streamside greenway that will provide a stream buffer, wildlife habitat, and walking trails. The developer is also implementing innovative strategies for erosion and sediment control, including use of a Filter Sock around storm water catch basins. A tube of net fabric filled with mulch, the sock draws silt out of run-off before it can reach water sources.

Versant has also endeavored to build roadways along previously cut logging roads to minimize the need for additional clearing and grading. The developer has been stabilizing slopes immediately after grading and using a mulch binder to hold grass seed and make it germinate faster.

In addition, the community has strict guidelines for clearing on building sites, will be implementing the use of drip irrigation systems with rain gauges for common areas, and provides homeowners with guidelines for planting drought resistant native flora in their yards.

“Audubon International wants us to conserve natural resources,” Bailey explains. “By participating in the Gold Signature Sanctuary Program, Versant is making a substantial commitment to environmental stewardship of its property and surrounding properties.”

After Versant’s road systems and public areas are complete and its natural resource management plan fully in place, the community will undergo review by an Audubon International representative to ensure it has met all of its environmental commitments and has a plan in place for continuing those commitments for the future.

“Our owners are naturally people who love these mountains and want to be part of preserving their beauty for future generations,” says Versant Developer Robert Richey. “By becoming a Gold Signature Sanctuary member, we’re making a long-term promise to our owners to protect their real estate investment by protecting the natural environment that makes this such a beautiful and valuable place to live.”

Versant is a 400-acre community on the north edge of Asheville, overlooking the downtown skyline as well as the famed Grove Park Inn. The community offers single-family homesites as well as a variety of multi-family homes at elevations up to 3,000 feet. Versant is one of only 47 members worldwide of Audubon International’s Gold Signature Sanctuary Program.

For more information on sales at Versant, call 1-866-482-1924. For media inquiries on Versant, call Deborah Huso at (540) 474-5147, or e-mail drhuso@writewellmedia.com.

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Homestead Preserve Promotes Recycling and Reuse of Construction Materials to Encourage Green Building Practices

Hot Springs, Virginia – July 22, 2008. . . In recognition of the fact that most construction site waste ends up in landfills, Homestead Preserve recently began instituting construction waste management plans as part of its builders’ participation in the EarthCraft Virginia program. The waste management plans have been designed to ensure that builders work hard to reuse leftover materials and recycle as much on site waste as feasible.

“Our efforts to reuse and recycle are part of Homestead Preserve’s long-term commitment to the environment,” says the community’s Co-General Manager and President of the Virginia Hot Springs Building Company Don Killoren. “We spent years planning how to both conserve and develop this property to ensure proper stewardship of the natural landscape for years to come, but the building process needs to be part of that stewardship as well.”

Currently, Homestead Preserve has two homes participating in the EarthCraft Virginia program, and the builders of both those homes have gone to great lengths to minimize landfill waste. They have used leftover lumber for blocking, transferred it to other building sites where it can be used, and donated it to the vocational woodworking program at Bath County High School. Builders have also reused leftover drywall by grinding it on site and mixing it with the backfill for use during final grading of the home site.

“At a conventional construction site, most scrap lumber and waste material is thrown away and ends up in landfills,” says Virginia Hot Springs Building Company construction supervisor Paul Dressler. “We have found ways to cut waste going to the landfill by as much as 75 percent.”

Homestead Preserve’s first EarthCraft Virginia certified home was completed in June. The second green certified home is scheduled for completion later this year. EarthCraft Virginia is a formal green building certification program designed to promote the construction of homes that use less energy, make use of sustainable building materials, and provide a healthy living environment for residents.

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 residential development projects at Bundoran Farm in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Mt. Washington Hotel at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire. Crosland, Inc. 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, Inc. is one of the Southeast’s leading and most diversified real estate companies.

For more information on Homestead Preserve sales, call 877-224-9477. To schedule media interviews with Homestead Preserve builders or EarthCraft homeowners, call Deborah Huso at (540) 474-5147, or e-mail drhuso@writewellmedia.com.

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The Club Without the Course: Buyers Flock to Natural Amenities in the High Country

Atkins River Farm Conservancy at Echota

Boone, North Carolina – July 17, 2008. . . While the conventional vision of a second home often includes a view of the golf course, sales in the North Carolina High Country, where golf is rarely part of the amenity package, prove that more and more homeowners are seeking the club without the course. According to statistics from the National Association of Realtors®, more than 30 percent of vacation homeowners want to be close to the mountains or other natural scenery. Only about 20 percent consider a golf course an important amenity.

“With second and third home ownership becoming more common among increasingly affluent baby boomers, the breadth of amenities they want is expanding,” says Will Sears, Vice President of Sales and Development at Echota, the most successful second home community in the High Country. “The most important amenity to our buyers is the natural setting and access to hiking and walking trails,” Sears adds. “Everybody wants a view, and we definitely have that here at Echota with the profile of Grandfather Mountain framing our backyard.”

Despite lagging real estate sales elsewhere in the country, Echota has closed more than 50 real estate transactions in 2008, in keeping with its record last year of 107 closed sales. “The market is still hot in the High Country,” Sears says, “but then we’ve always been a place of consistent real estate growth. Buyers like that kind of security.”

Buyers also like the fact that they’re not paying for an 18-hole golf course they will never use. Instead, the typical Echota owner enjoys hiking on the resort community’s 25-acre riverside conservancy or along its linked roads and trails. In addition, Echota and Echota on the Ridge feature two clubhouses, each with swimming pools, fitness centers, and massage studios. The community also has on-site trout fishing ponds and close access to outdoor recreation on the Blue Ridge Parkway and in the Pisgah National Forest.

Echota is located about two hours from Charlotte and three hours from Raleigh-Durham. Echota Developer Mark Harrill is President of Foscoe Realty and Development. He is the leading developer of second home resort communities in the North Carolina High Country. He has been developing mountain property in the area for more than two decades and has demonstrated a commitment to blending architecture into the landscape. Echota properties range in cost from the $300,000s to $700,000.

For information on Echota sales, call 866-283-9420. For media inquiries, call Deborah Huso at (540) 474-5147, or e-mail drhuso@writewellmedia.com.

Homestead Preserve Completes First Certified Green Home

Homestead Preserve Completes First Certified Green Home

First EarthCraft Virginia Home at Homestead Preserve

Hot Springs, Virginia – June 23, 2008. . The first green home has been completed at Homestead Preserve through the EarthCraft Virginia program. Situated in the Sheep Meadow neighborhood adjacent to The Homestead, the community’s first EarthCraft House, a Highlands Arts and Crafts cottage, was constructed by Andrew Watkins Custom Homebuilding of Millboro, Virginia.

EarthCraft Virginia is a formal green building certification program designed to promote the construction of homes that use less energy, make use of sustainable building materials, and provide a healthy living environment for residents. Homestead Preserve is the first community in the Alleghany Highlands to certify a home under the EarthCraft program. All EarthCraft builders must be trained and certified, and all EarthCraft homes must undergo a formal evaluation and blower door test by a third party in order to receive EarthCraft designation.

Homestead Preserve expects its second EarthCraft certified home to be complete by fall.

“We decided to become part of the EarthCraft Virginia program because its green building tenets complemented our long-term commitment to the landscape of the Alleghany Highlands,” says Don Killoren, Co-General Manager of Homestead Preserve and President of the Virginia Hot Springs Building Company, which is working on the community’s second EarthCraft home. “Most of our owners are already environmentally committed individuals,” Killoren explains. “That’s why they chose to buy at our conservation community in the first place. We wanted to provide them the additional opportunity to not only live in a community committed to landscape stewardship but also committed to building in ways that decrease our environmental footprint.”

Many Homestead Preserve homes feature green construction components, including geothermal heating and cooling systems, use of Forest Stewardship Council certified lumber, strict construction site building material recycling and reuse guidelines, and Energy Star certified appliances.

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 residential development projects at Bundoran Farm in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Mt. Washington Hotel at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire. Crosland, Inc. 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, Inc. is one of the Southeast’s leading and most diversified real estate companies.

For more information on Homestead Preserve sales, call 877-224-9477. To schedule media interviews with Homestead Preserve builders or EarthCraft homeowners, call Deborah Huso at (540) 474-5147, or e-mail drhuso@writewellmedia.com.

First Single-Family Home Under Construction at Versant Asheville

First Single-Family Home Under Construction at Versant Asheville

First Single-Family Home Under Construction at Versant

Asheville, NC – July 8, 2008. . . The first single-family home is currently under construction at Versant, the new luxury European style community north of Asheville. The 3,650-sq. ft. home is situated at just under 3,000 feet in elevation, offering Versant’s signature views of the surrounding Blue Ridge skyline.

“The construction of our first single-family home is a milestone event here at Versant,” says Developer Robert Richey. “We’ve spent the last two years and more than $10 million developing infrastructure for Phase I, and we’re excited to see all that hard work coming to fruition.” Richey says the first home will be completed by late fall, and its owners from the nearby community of Candler will be moving in soon thereafter.

Two weeks ago, Versant released its first townhomes for sale.

Shamburger Design Studio of Hendersonville designed the mountain villa style home, and the contractor is Morgan Keefe, one of Asheville’s finest luxury custom home builders.

Versant is a 400-acre community on the north edge of Asheville, overlooking the downtown skyline as well as the famed Grove Park Inn. The community offers single-family homesites as well as a variety of multi-family homes at elevations up to 3,000 feet. Versant is one of only 38 members worldwide of Audubon International’s Gold Signature Sanctuary Program.

For more information on sales at Versant, call 1-866-482-1924. For media inquiries on Versant or renderings of the townhomes, call Deborah Huso at (540) 474-5147, or e-mail drhuso@writewellmedia.com.

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Garland Lake Defies Real Estate Slowdown

Waterfront home sites at Garland Lake near Warsaw, Virginia

Garland Lake Defies Real Estate Slowdown: 34 Lots Under Contract in One Day at Northern Neck Lakefront Community

Warsaw, Virginia – June 30, 2008. . . Last week the developers of Garland Lake put 34 home sites under contract in less than 24 hours at their June 21 sales launch event. Garland Lake developer Dean Sinatra expects the final sales results will generate close to $4.3 million in revenue from the community’s grand opening.

Garland Lake is a lakefront community on Virginia’s Northern Neck located about an hour east of Fredericksburg. Situated on 300 wooded acres, the community has 84 home sites, nearly half of which are situated on the lake, and all offer lake access. The average home site is about three acres in size, and lots sold last week for $40,000 to $200,000, showing that affordable second home properties are still selling even in an otherwise down market.

“Our sales success last weekend shows that real estate market news isn’t all bad,” notes Sinatra. “We’re offering a unique product for this market—lakefront and lake access lots in a pristine and peaceful setting with easy access to the D.C. and Richmond metro areas—at a very affordable price. Urban second homeowners can get here in two hours and be in a completely different setting.”

Sinatra says the successful sales are also a boost to the Northern Neck economy. “The impact will continue to be felt once these owners start building,” he adds. “They can select their own builders, and that will also be a boost to the local area trades.”

Garland Lake Estates, LLC, is a partnership company of Trebor Investments of Greenville, North Carolina, and Enterprise Partners of Charleston, South Carolina. The developers specialize in second home and waterfront communities. Garland Lake is a pristine 65-acre private watershed lake on Virginia’s Northern Neck two hours southeast of Washington, D.C. The low density community features 84 home sites, ranging in size from one to 13 acres, and also offers log cabin packages. For more information, call Deborah Huso at (540) 474-5147, or e-mail drhuso@writewellmedia.com.