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At The Oaks, minimum square foot- age is 2,400; there’s currently one home a little over 12,000 square feet. “Currently we have eight homes con- structed, two under construction and another about to break ground,” Brad explains. “We’re at about 50 percent capacity for the equestrian properties right now. We also have one-acre lots, whose owners pay $250 a year to help maintain the commons; the equestrian properties are four acres and up and are equity-owners in the equestrian
center, trail center and all. Their homeowner fees are $1,800 per year.” At Equestrian Lakes, the homes in phase one are 2,500
square feet and up, and those in the estate section are 3,500 square feet and up. Parcels of land start at five acres; one buyer purchased four lots to create a larger farm within the community. “We encourage everybody to bring their own design,”
Rob explains. “I’m a builder and review everything. So far I’m very pleased with the designs. The largest home is a little over 7,000 square feet. Prices start in the $400,000s—above that it is unlimited. Some of the homes currently are in the million-plus range.”
At Three Runs, the developer only offers single-family homes and there is no community barn, so every property is five to six acres and able to support a barn of its own. The average home size is 2,500-3,000 square feet and costs range from $500–$600,000. Jack says that nobody wants to speculate on the average size or cost of the barn, since one person might need 2–3 stalls and another might need 5-6. “Right now we have five ‘spec’ homes in various stages of construction ranging from $495,000 to $529,000, all on at least five acres,” he says. Portofino, which does have a central barn, offers dif-
ferent neighborhoods within the community at varying price points, from more modest Churchill homes to the Belmont neighborhood—the “estate” section—with larger lots and upscale houses, some priced above a million dol- lars. Some of these are mini-farms with their own small barns and paddocks and with direct access to trails and the Neuse River.
Equestrian Amenities Galore Of course the key selling points for an equestrian community are the stables, arena(s) and other amenities. Most of these communities offer central equestrian facilities and at three of them horse owners can either board at the equestrian center or purchase extra property and create their own small farm. (Three Runs, with only private barns, is the exception.) “The Oaks is considered an O’Connor design,” Brad reit-
erates. “We did the overall design of the community with a company in Virginia. The O’Connor’s were involved in the design but the program didn’t survive the economic down- turn so there really aren’t any more O’Connor Signature prop- erties being developed now.” Part of the plan was for the equestrian center to be man-
aged by people who came from the O’Connor’s program. That has changed, however, and the facility is now leased out. “Ken Najorka of Najorka Performance Horses is running it now,” Brad explains. “He’s into English and Western—he’s pri- marily a reiner by passion but the facility is designed to cater to any discipline. We have an O’Connor-designed cross-coun- try course, the footing caters to the reiners and we have a jumping ring. Nobody has distaste for each other’s passions. We have dressage clinicians in too and the facilities are open
Warmbloods Today 59
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