Some have been around 20 years! Are there any in Florida? Orlando?
There has been a lot of recent news regarding Agrihoods. Agrihoods are neighborhoods designed for suburban living around community farms. What a great idea, consuming fresh, local food; in some cases that you have helped grow. One of the newest fucntioning developments is near Sacramento California. The Cannery opened in August 2015 and is planned for 547 homes; townhomes starting at $400,000. Residents can sign up for a weeekly box of produce from the farm whether they participated or not. Few residents work or volunteer on the farm, most are professionally handled. This niche is growing as many buyers are no longer interested in golf views. McMahon of The Cannery stated "I get a call literally almost once a day from some developer who wants to talk about this."
 © Prairie Crossing |
It isn't a new idea, one of the first Agrihoods is over 20 years old. The Prairie Crossing in Grayslake IL is highly sought after real estate. Using the premiss of environmental protection and enhancement this agrihood only developed 25% of the units allowed. One hundred acres was reserved for the Prairie Crossing Farm, a working organic farm. The farm is just part of a growing network of organic farms serving customers throughout the Chicago area.
There is a number of farm-to-table examples across the US.; Agitopia in Pheonix, Serenbe Community of Atlanta, South Village in Vermonte, Hidden Springs in Boise, Willowford in Virginia, Bucking Horse in Colorado, Skokomish Farms in Washington state, Harvest in Texas, Sendero in California, another in Kansas, and even one in Hawaii. So what about Florida? There is a new community underway that is projected to be available early this year in Palm Beach County. The Arden will include 5 acres of farming. As with many of these communities, classes are available to the residents. Some even have their own designated areas if they desire to also grow certain produce for their family. For this community, homes will start in the $300,000's.
Is Orlando being left out? Of course not, September 20th the City of Orlando approved a $1,000,000,000 agrihood development close to UCF. This 1,189 acre development will offer 2078 homes, a community garden, a 20 acre park, and 12 bike trails. There are also plans for an elementary school and 172,000 sqft of commercial real estate space. The location is east of Econlockhatchee River and south of Lake Pickett Rd in East Orange County and it will be called "The Grow". They received roadway approval last February to affect SR 50 and Chuluota Road.
We will be monitoring progress.
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CONTACT
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References:
Locke, Michelle. Agrihoods take root: a housing trend rooted in agriculture. May 2016. <http://bigstory.ap.org/article/741be41882804a99bf482ab0a61d8bee/agrihoods-take-root-housing-trend-rooted-agriculture>.
The Praire Crossing. April 2017. <http://prairiecrossing.com/>.
Buczynski, Beth. 12 Agrihoods Taking Farm-to-table Living Mainstream. May 2014. <http://www.shareable.net/blog/12-agrihoods-taking-farm-to-table-living-mainstream>.
Arden. April 2017. <http://ardenfl.com>.
Skeels, Emma. $1B 'agrihood' development to go before Orange County board. September 2016. <http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2016/09/19/1b-agrihood-development-to-go-before-orange.html>.
Agrihoods, farm to fork, farm-to-fork, farm-to-table, green community
