Bundoran Farm Talks to Its Neighbors

Kathy Johnson, Crozet Gazette, 11/1/2007
Website: http://crozetgazette.com
PDF: Crozet Gazette Article

Some 30 neighbors from the Batesville area turned out Oct. 18 at the Batesville Store to learn more about construction plans at Bundoran Farm near Plank and Route 29. David Hamilton of QROE Companies, project manager for the Bundoran Farm project, made the presentation to the friendly crowd.

Hamilton, supported by Casey Williams of Audubon International at Bundoran Farm, offering the group a quick overview of the project, which includes an offering of 93 lots (out of an approved maximum of 103), varying in size from 2 to 90 acres and priced from $300,000 to $1 million plus.

The project, co-owned by QROE Companies and Celebration Associates, has several goals, Hamilton said, including preservation of the rural character of the land, contiguous pastureland, environmental quality and the maintenance of existing farm structures, and common design elements. Plans also include protecting the public views, streams and farmland.

Currently, the 2,300-acre farm has 1,000 acres of managed forest, 1,100 acres in pasture and approximately 200 acres in apple orchards. While trying to use the existing roads as much as possible, Hamilton explained there would be a need for some new roads and hammerhead turn-arounds. As the land is developed, they will try to fit the homes in between the views – not removing parts of forest to provide the homeowner a view at the visual expense of those in the community.

“People give up a lot of rights when they come into this plan,” Hamilton said. Homeowners will be using “green standards” for building and sustainability guidelines. Typically there will be big zones of forest, big areas of farmland and small areas on which homeowners may build, “typically ½ acre,” said Hamilton.

Immediate plans at the farm include the construction of the new road. Work has already begun on the south side of Plank Road. Initial home construction will begin in the spring of 2008. Most of the disturbance in the area will occur near Route 29, with 90 percent of the construction trucks coming from that direction.

After explaining in detail plans for conservation and rural vistas, Hamilton then said, “We’re in negotiations with Wal-Mart for a superstore.” Accepting his attempt at humor, an obviously somewhat concerned the group, the crowd laughed and nudged one another.

Several times throughout the meeting Hamilton offered his business cards, his personal phone number and his willingness to talk with them. He mentioned that the project had also endowed a foundation, tentatively named the Baldwin Center after Robert H. Baldwin who developed the 30-year-old concept designed to preserve 80 percent or more of the farm, forest and other environmentally landscape.

Baldwin was killed in a plane crash at Bundoran Farm in July 2006. The center would focus on education and outreach. While some hunting and fishing will continue at the property, the miscellaneous hunting will go away and only group hunts will be allowed in the future. They will also be looking at a deer management program. “The entire project will take a number of years,” said Hamilton.

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