![\"Agrihoods_Neighbors](\"http:\/\/resources.newhomesource.com\/uploadedImages\/NewHomeSource\/Resource_Center\/Articles\/find_your_new_home\/Agrihoods.jpg\" "\\"Agrihoods_Neighbors")
<\/p>\nAgrihoods help build community spirit when neighbors can gather to enjoy the veggies they\u2019ve grown together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Swimming pool. Clubhouse. Golf course. Hiking trail. Farm. These are among the many amenities new homebuilders offer buyers<\/a> in today\u2019s new communities.<\/p>\n Wait a minute. Farm? Yes, you read that right.<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s a working farm,vegetable gardening plots<\/a>, farm stands, participatory cooking classes or Happy Farmer family nights, builders are finding ways to introduce community agriculture, or so-called agrihoods, into new-home developments.<\/p>\n The Agrihood Craze<\/strong><\/p>\n Offering homebuyers both practical and emotional benefits, the agrihood trend builds on such themes as health, wellness, slow food, whole food and hyperlocal food production, says Brent Herrington, executive vice president of DMB, a developer of residential communities in Arizona, California and Hawaii.<\/p>\n \u201cI see it as a slow revolution that has taken hold and started to be an animating force in the real estate industry rather than just a fringe lifestyle choice that individual people may have made in decades past,\u201d Herrington says.<\/p>\n The tangible benefits are primarily edible as community agricultural efforts produce a bountiful harvest<\/a>. Tenant farmers and residents grow lettuces, kales, herbs, tomatoes, onions, squashes, okras, peas, mushrooms, garlic, peppers and much more. Produce is also bought and sold at farm stands and used for communal meals.<\/p>\n The emotional benefits include the social aspects of community agriculture and aesthetics of farmscape, which is a landscape that includes open space, crops, trees, streams and other natural elements.<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing food, and then later gathering, harvesting and enjoying preparing and sharing food you\u2019ve grown with your own hands is deep, emotional, powerful stuff. It draws people together,\u201d Herrington says.<\/p>\n Farm and Garden<\/strong><\/p>\n In some new-home communities, ag is just another amenity. In others, it\u2019s a way of life.<\/p>\n Within those extremes, communities offer a variety of options. There are working farms, community gardens and backyard grow-your-own plots, all with varying degrees of help from local farming, gardening and food preparation experts.<\/p>\n Hillwood Communities\u2019 Harvest project in Dallas offers residents three amenities within the community agriculture theme, says Tom Woliver, director of project management.<\/p>\n The centerpiece is a working five-acre farm. Tenant farmers sell greenhouse-grown microgreens to local restaurants, educate homeowners about farming and donate a portion of the produce to a local food bank. A demonstration or \u201ctest\u201d garden in front of the farm shows residents how to grow their own watermelons, popping corn and other popular crops. Individual community garden plots allow homeowners to grow their own produce on their own time with their own tools, materials and efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe built 50 rentable raised garden beds in the first phase and they were sold out with our first 50 homeowners. We\u2019re now building 70 more,\u201d Woliver says. \u201cWe also have the option for every homeowner to build, through their builder or the association, raised beds<\/a> in their backyard so they can grow their own food.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEverything You Need\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n The new-home community of Willowsford in Ashburn, Va., features a working farm, farm stand, raised beds for demonstration projects and an on-site kitchen, says Brian Cullen, who leads the development operation for Corbelis Development.<\/p>\n The farm stand \u2014 soon to be joined by a second one \u2014 sells locally sourced chickens, eggs and dairy products as well as the farm\u2019s fresh produce. \u201cIf you want to have a barbecue,\u201d Cullen says, \u201cyou can walk to the farm stand and get everything you need for your dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n Some early agrihoods required residents to participate in farm work. Newer communities tend to favor volunteer models that allow residents to pick and choose their own activities and levels of involvement.<\/p>\n Many activities are low-intensity and suitable for all ages, Cullen says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a front farm that is part of the farm stand,\u201d he says. \u201cIt has raised beds and we use it for education or pick-your-own, like when strawberries are in season. We also use that front garden on Thursdays when we have Happy Farmer nights. The kids come out and do weeding or mulching or picking something.\u201d<\/p>\n Life in An Agrihood<\/strong><\/p>\n Homeowner John Pellerito, 35, and his wife, Kristy, 37, have lived at Willowsford since August 2014 with their two children, Sophia, 7, and Tommy, 4.<\/p>\n Pellerito says the agrihood wasn\u2019t why he and Kristy chose their home. Rather, the main attraction was the two-story floor plan, a contemporary open arrangement<\/a> with 6,000 square feet of space.<\/p>\n Still, they\u2019ve enjoyed the agricultural component of their community.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve always been health-conscience and shopped mostly at Whole Foods for our produce and meat. The notion that there would be a farm within the community that would produce a good portion of the food we eat was very attractive and interesting to us,\u201d Pellerito says.<\/p>\n The farm is located more than a mile from their home, so they haven\u2019t been affected by any noise or odor, Pellerito says. Nor have they participated in any grow-your-own or hands-in-the-dirt activities. \u201cThis is all done for you. It\u2019s well-packaged and managed,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Their primary interaction has been with the farm stand, which they visit every Saturday when it\u2019s open, Pellerito says. They\u2019ve also attended dinner events and daytime activities a few times each month when they\u2019ve been able to secure places at the table.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to be able to do more,\u201d Pellerito says. \u201cIt\u2019s an open registration and you have to register immediately or they are sold out.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps the biggest benefit has been the opportunity to educate the next generation. \u201cWe really like the aspect of teaching our children about farming,\u201d Pellerito says, \u201cthat you grow food and it\u2019s much healthier to eat food that you grow locally.\u201d<\/p>\n In an agrihood, that might mean right around the corner.<\/p>\n Welcome to the Agrihood: Building Communities with Community Gardens, Farm Stands and More By Marcie Geffner Agrihoods help build community spirit when neighbors can gather to enjoy the veggies they\u2019ve grown together. Swimming pool. Clubhouse. Golf course. Hiking trail. Farm. … Continue reading