Tree Huggers

Balsam Mountain Preserve falls under what the company describes as an ultra low-density development. Three hundred and fifty homesites and an 18-hole championship golf course are distributed across the Preserve’s 1,400 buildable acres. The remaining 3,000 acres were placed in a voluntary conservation easement.

Homes in the Preserve fall under strict design codes covering building materials, underground cisterns, well and septic systems and paint colors. Houses can be constructed no larger than 4,500 square feet.

The internal road system relies predominately on pre-existing roads leftover from when the property belonged to Champion Paper Co. As new roads are cut, or buildings erected, materials are salvaged and recycled as on-site sawmills are used to make wood beams or mulch to reduce erosion.

“That’s one reason we’ve moved so slowly up here,” said Ellen Savage, vice president of operations for the Preserve.

Seven homes are under construction while another six are in the habitat review process. The company does little advertising, relying on its homebuyers to attract other like-minded buyers, like-minded meaning those with an interest in living with nature, not just having a house in the woods.

Through the formation of a 501c3 trust created by Chaffin/Light but managed by Preserve staff and homeowners, the company encourages land preservation and nature-based education. A voluntary real estate transfer fee paid by the homeowner gives a percentage of each site sale to the trust. So far no site buyer has opted out of the fee, rather, several have made additional donations to the trust, Savage said.

Funds generated by the fee go toward amenities such as the nature center where educational programs for school children, garden clubs and historical societies are in the works. Programs for a visiting artist also are being planned.

“One thing we have in common, those of us in the company, is a real true love for the land,” Savage said.


How To Love A Bear

“The first time you look at Bear Lake you fall in love with it,” said Jon Lenihan, Division President of Centex Destination Properties, the company developing Bear Lake Reserve.

Bear Lake Reserve is in its infancy, as workers are just now laying a road base, running the groundwork for well and septic systems, connecting electric, internet and cable utilities and creating an entry feature to the 650-homesite development.

The 111 homesites and 65 additional cottage sites of the development’s first phase have been staked and recorded, with 46 of those lining Bear Lake in divisions of approximately an acre and a half.

Although the Reserve has no plans for a nature center similar to Balsam Mountain Preserve’s, a system of walking trails, fire pits, fishing ponds and a stone ampitheater will inhabit the meadowlands formerly occupied by Golden Farm.

“We’re very much into saving all the natural elements that are there,” Lenihan said.

Fellow Centex subsidiary, Centex Homes, has been recognized for its conservancy work, donating $35 to The Nature Conservancy for each home it builds and sells and giving preference to building products which come from renewable sources. The same will occur at Bear Lake Preserve.

Homeowners will be able to begin moving into the development within a year, at which time additional nature based programming such as guided tours through Panthertown Valley Preserve and lectures about lake resources are planned.

“When we do target market research the first thing that comes up is walking and hiking and naturalist type things,” Lenihan said.

The residential resort also will feature a nine-hole Nicklaus Design golf course.


Tax Man

The pros and cons of high-price developments such as Balsam Mountain and Bear Lake vary depending which side of the economic/ecosystem line you’re on or to whom you’re speaking.

Because the developments cater largely to the second- or retirement-home market, residents will most likely place little strain on the county’s public services.

“There’s not likely to be a great impact on the county’s school systems and other public services in that fashion,” said Jackson County Manager Ken Westmoreland.

Both communities are putting in their own water and sewer systems and are responsible for their road development and security, meaning that they are self-contained operations. The low draw on public services translates to tax rate security for the rest of the county. Rates would rise if there were a greater services demand, Westmoreland said.

“The tax rate is only going to increase if more services are required,” he said.

The county also may be able to pinch a few coffers from development residents, as they probably will increase the demand for high-end services such as restaurants and retail stores, thereby contributing to the local economy.

“When all is said and done it will probably prove very beneficial to the county,” Westmoreland said.

The Other Side of the Fence

But benefits may be a long-time coming, as the increase in property values will occur slowly. While lands around such developments will increase in value, the increase will not occur overnight. Rather sellers can expect land that was going for about $10,000 an acre to sell for $12,000, said Bill Stump, the president of the Northern Jackson County Board of Realtors.

“The lands right around it certainly are going to increase in value by association,” Stump said. “But I don’t think they’ll appreciate as much as people who own the property think they will.”

As the developments fill up and gain notoriety, a mushrooming effect is likely with additional developments nearby. Such developments could gradually decrease in value the farther they are from the original high-price settlement, effectively raising the bar in a region of the county as a whole rather than for a single community.

For now, high-price developments are not expected to impact the going rate for the standard family home found in the northern part of the county, which averages $120,000, Stump said.

Similarly, no profound effect is expected in the southern portion of the county, where the average home price jumps to approximately $400,000.

Marty Jones, past-president of the Highlands/Cashiers Board of Realtors, said that developments such as Bear Lake and Balsam Mountain really are nothing new — at least for the Highlands-Cashiers area.

“It’s more of what we’ve already got,” Jones said.

A minimum of seven developments in or partially in Jackson County — Wade Hampton, High Hampton, Cullasaja, Highlands Falls, Lake Toxaway, Sapphire Lake and Wildcat Cliffs — already exist. Each of these developments have 300 or more homesites.

Additional developments therefore shouldn’t have much of an effect on the market, except for the immediately surrounding lands. Even then, like in the northern part of the county, the appreciation will be minimal, Jones said.

The biggest, most beneficial recourse of such residential developments is the employment generated within the local job market.

“It’s especially good for economic development and construction,” Jones said.

In both the Bear Lake and Balsam Mountain communities, homes are being constructed by local builders rather than outside corporate contractors. The catch is that local builders, knowing they can earn more for jobs in areas like Highlands and Cashiers, could start charging more for jobs in lower priced markets such as Sylva and Whittier.

Developers’ Dilemma

Eco-minded developer sounds like an oxy moron. Ellen Savage, Balsam Mountain’s VP of Operations, knows that.

“Our bad reputation was well deserved years and years ago,” she said.

Back then residential developments were more about uniformity, about how many people you could cram into a parcel of land, about profit margins.

Which isn’t to say that kind of stuff doesn’t happen anymore. But as more of the country is settled, wild acres become harder to find and consequently the prices are rising higher and higher.

“One thing to accept is that the federal, state and local governments cannot afford to buy and maintain these big pieces of land anymore,” Savage said.

It is becoming the private sector’s responsibility to save what it can, perhaps creating partnerships between private and government interests to work for the common good of the land, Savage said.

However, Roger Turner, a Jackson County resident and a community organizer for the environmental group WNC Alliance, said that it is easier to trust government agencies than private-interest groups because governments have someone to whom they must answer — voters.

“At least they are held accountable,” Turner said. “A private person doesn’t have that kind of accountability to deal with.”

While private interests may be capable of preserving the land, the question remains — will they and at what cost? Though Balsam Mountain Preserve has placed 3,000 of its acres in a conservation easement, those acres, like those which surround Bear Lake, are now off-limits to hunters, hikers, fishermen and other outdoor enthusias\ts who don’t own a piece for themselves.

“It’s probably tragic to have lost such large acreages,” said Westmoreland.