A quiet home life where one’s family is surrounded by vast open land, with a garden full of fresh produce and maybe even a chicken coop in the backyard often comes at the expense of not being able to live near the shops, schools and offices visited often if that same family chooses to live in a city.
An upcoming Alachua County subdivision is looking to challenge that notion by offering the best of both worlds — an “agrihood” close to city amenities that’s focused on keeping nature at the forefront.
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Flint Rock, located west of Parker Road and south of Oakmont in the 5000 block of Southwest 122nd Street, is the brainchild of the developers Tymber Reed, Tara Beauchamp and Amy Paras — who are sisters — and their friend Marylin Deas. Once completed, it will consist of three distinct gated communities that have community gardens and natural walking trails. Many homes will back up against conservation lands.
“We grew up living on the land,” Paras said. “It’s something everyone needs to experience. Being able to go outside to breathe and walk and grow your own food, even if it’s just vegetables.”
What’s an agrihood?
Agrihoods are trending around the country as people embrace a lifestyle that supports concepts like farm-to-table eating, urban farming, food cooperatives and community supported agriculture.
Though the blueprint of specific agrihoods differ, they’re marked by keeping the land surrounding the neighborhood in as much focus as the homes themselves. They’re located all over the country, from one outside Atlanta, to Vermont and west to Phoenix and southern California.
Deas, one of the developers at Flint Rock, said farm-to-table eating is at the heart of the upcoming subdivision west of Gainesville. This practice emphasizes growing one’s own food or getting it from local producers.
Community gardens and an orchard of 2,000 fruit trees are some of the main ways Flint Rock will make farm-to-table a reality. There will also be a potting area in a covered barn that people can use to flex their green thumbs.
Traditional amenities replaced with nature-focused ones
Typical subdivisions are centered around the homes that comprise a community, said Cindy Birk, a real estate agent at Coldwell Banker M.M. Parrish Realtors, one of the exclusive listing agents for the project along with Realtor Jacqui Knowles.
Generally, subdivisions are configured to fit as many homes as possible and the emphasis isn’t on green spaces. The opposite is true of Flint Rock. About 63% of the 381-acre parcel is green ways, including a 151-acre conservation area donated to the Alachua Conservation Trust. Some 65,000 longleaf pine trees have been planted in the conservation area.
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Birk said during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people realized that instead of the amenities they usually have in a community like indoor gathering spaces, they wanted to have the ability to grow vegetables or keep chickens. However, those families don’t necessarily have the means or know-how when it comes to maintaining many acres of land.
“[Flint Rock is] kind of the perfect world where somebody wants property but they don’t want to maintain property,” she said.
Lots at Flint Rock range from 0.99 to 1.69 acres, so maintenance isn’t overbearing like it might be in a more rural setting.
Community amenities at Flint Rock will include a clubhouse with a kitchen and outdoor fire pits and an event barn. Rather than an indoor gym with the latest-model stationary bikes, the subdivision will include a 2.5-mile paved walking trail or residents can also traipse the conservation lands.
Lots start at $175,00
Flint Rock will contain three neighborhoods with a total of 96 lots available. Residents will work with one of six approved builders to envision and construct their agrihood home. The builders have worked on homes in nearby Tioga and Oakmont.
The Garden, the easternmost of the communities, is the only neighborhood that will contain cul-de-sacs. Lots there start from $175,000 and a minimum of 2,600 heated and cooled square feet is required.
At the Orchard, all lots back up to green space, such as the conservation area or a nature trail. Lot prices begin at $250,000 and a minimum of 3,000 heated and cooled square feet is required.
The Parke is Flint Rock’s largest gated community, and is surrounded by 151 acres of dedicated conservation area. Lot prices begin at $265,000 and a minimum of 3,000 heated and cooled square feet is required.
Clay Electric is the subdivision’s utility provider; with Gainesville Regional Utilities for natural gas, Cox Communications for cable, and AT&T and Cox Communications for fiber internet. All lots will be well and septic.
Coldwell Banker M.M. Parrish Realtors is now accepting reservations for phase-one lots and connecting interested parties with builders. Road construction has begun on the property, with home construction scheduled to begin in the next couple of months.
Originally Appeared On: https://www.gainesville.com/story/lifestyle/real-estate/2021/05/10/peek-inside-flint-rock-alachua-countys-first-agrihood/5013373001/