After Fred Scott sold Bundoran Farm in 2006 for $25.8 million, a bunch of suits from New England came to town with some big promises for the development of 2,300 acres of southern Albemarle land that many feared would start sprouting McMansions. Developers from Qroe Companies soothed the neighbors: Rather than maxing out the roughly 160 potential development rights, the company would build on only 88 parcels. Moreover, the housing sites would be tucked out of view from Plank Road, and at least 80 percent of the land would be protected, placed in interlocking conservation easements to protect farmland. Cows would still dot the fields instead of gaudy houses.
More than two years later, Qroe has been more or less true to its word. Though the company ended up carving out five more parcels than originally planned, Bundoran still has a working cattle farm and orchard, and it is still the home to the Albemarle County Fair. Despite the fact that Qroe has built two miles of new road, fair attendees last week saw few signs that they were in the midst of a large development project.
 The first new house at the Bundoran development is designed by Russell Versaci to fit into the landscape. “Quite a lot of what we do is to visually hiding homes,” says David Hamilton, Bundoran project manager. “We don’t build a big brick wall with a country lion out front.” |
The first new house at Bundoran Farm is nearing completion, on a site hard to spot to passersby. David Hamilton, Bundoran’s project manager, says that he was warned that people would build super-large, 6,000-square-foot homes on the properties that would max out the building sites.
“What we’ve found is that in fact people are building generally more modest homes,” says Hamilton. “This one is slightly over 3,000 square feet, but it’s on one of the nicest lots at Bundoran. It’s going to be jaw-droppingly beautiful, but it’s not what anyone would call a McMansion.”
Sales have not been particularly brisk. “Everybody’s heard that there have been challenges in the real estate market locally and nationally, and we’re not immune to that,” admits Hamilton, though he says that he’s proud of Bundoran’s performance relative to peers.
Hamilton says they have sold 11 lots to 10 buyers. Prices have ranged from $310,000 for a small lot to $1.2 million for 38 acres, according to county property records. Hamilton estimates that about half are local buyers and about a quarter from New York or New England and about a quarter from elsewhere in Virginia. “What we’ve found is virtually everybody here either went to school here, or their kids went to school here, and they got stuck.”
Any lessons learned during the company’s first Southern project? “It’s a very challenging time for Virginia agriculture,” says Hamilton, pointing at expensive diesel (“There’s no Prius tractor,” he notes) and expensive corn for cattle. “We thought the farmer was in great shape relative to many of the farms we deal with in New England. There’s all kinds of threats to Virginia agriculture now. When farming is uneconomical, that’s when farmers sell their land to developers for not the best practices always.”
He did learn one more lesson: “When you’re going through the Planning Commission process, don’t get behind Biscuit Run.”
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