PUTTING THE GREEN IN THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY
Exclusive Log and Timber home project, Cielo Falls, leads trend toward eco-conscious sophistication and luxury
By Skip Knowles
Luxury Living International Magazine – Summer 08

(BOONE, North Carolina)-As developers nationwide move to grasp the green mantra sweeping the country, one scenic project on North Carolina's Blue Ridge Parkway has been leading the way since inception.

When it comes to sustainability, award-winning Cielo Falls could make other regional projects "green" with envy.

Sure, the beautiful dream homes are made of naturally efficient timbers, the lots are large, and the dedicated open spaces are big enough for miles of hiking trails.

Nevertheless, the spirit of eco-consciousness goes far beyond simply leaving greens strips and open space. At Cielo Falls, that's only the first step. Stream restoration, rainwater collection, wastewater purification, solar energy and soon geothermal and wind energy all play into Cielo's ever-evolving plan.

To be sure, it is to be a gated property of great luxury and elegance, intent on becoming the finest log and timber home community in the country, with more than 300 upscale home sites and villas. However, a green ethos is built into the foundation, a foundation that says minimalist mentality is passe'.

"The next big thing in vacation home-building is to show we can be eco-conscious and still not sacrifice luxury," says Mark Peterson, president of The Luxury Living Group, a marketing company specializing in high-end real estate. "And that's what this generation of retiring baby boomers-the wealthiest generation the world has ever seen-will demand."

"To that end, the classic rustic handsome ruggedness of log and timber homes serves as a near-perfect model of innovation in this new era, demonstrating how timeless architectural elegance can still be in-step with green-sensibilities, even at the forefront of the environmental ethos."

While market downturns have presented challenges to developers the world over, drive-to markets such as the serene North Carolina mountain country have become even more desirable as second home choices. Many people still wish to live near friends, family, and loved ones, and desire to own an idyllic retreat that is not too far away-just far enough to "get away."

Not to mention that proximity creates another green-friendly impetus. A shorter commute to a stateside second home retreat is another plus for environmental stewardship because it means less auto use, or jet fuel expended, to vacation and have quality time with loved ones. However, the homes themselves are the most remarkable eco-friendly feature.

Log and timber homes have been around forever, but today's are built on a whole new scale of architectural beauty and innovation. While the practicality of this timeless construction style pays ecologically sensible dividends, in the past those concerns were of secondary importance. In today's aura of green ethos, sustainability and energy efficiency has moved to the forefront.

With designs that are more energy efficient than typical brick-and-board home construction, log and timber homes also have the aesthetic boon of blending beautifully with scenery to protect the region's natural beauty. Ten-inch thick logs naturally retain energy and insulate efficiently.

Moreover, when it comes to environmental stewardship, Cielo offers an exemplary model of how private industry can trump even federal and state governments in habitat restoration: in this case, to restore and re-create the "ultimate natural amenity," a degraded trout stream that runs through the property.

"Streams in the Carolinas have been extensively damaged by logging and careless silt runoff over the years," says Cielo Falls developer Mark Yates. "We are restoring the stream system in Cielo Falls in a way to be self-maintaining, and to sustain a complete eco-wildlife system. Cielo Falls drains 5,800 acres of surrounding property on the Parkway. We feel we are morally responsible to make sure it is the best that it can be."

Trout need clean water to spawn, and after million of dollars of investment by Cielo Falls that turned eroded old logging roads into beautiful greenbelts and hiking trails covered in native plants and grasses, the North Prong of Lewis Fork Creek that ran dirty for decades now runs clean.

"We've started seeing trout in places we've never seen them," says Mike Sprague, president of Trout Headwaters, Inc., who headed the stream and trail restoration project. "This is a model of restoration and proof that if you give Mother Nature a chance she will restore herself."

The logging roads are gone, in their place a myriad of trails totaling nine miles across 650 acres that have been set aside for rhododendrons, lush trees and wildlife that call this forest of streams and cool water trout ponds home.

Rainwater collection is another way in which the progressive developers of Cielo Falls are becoming a groundbreaking environmental model. Rather than drilling over 200 deep wells to suck the water from the under ground aquifer and stressing watershed throughout the area, Cielo Falls uses cost-efficient and low-maintenance 5,000 to 10,000 gallon rainwater collection systems of each individual. Naturally, soft and nearly pure, rainwater is then put through an all-inclusive purification and filtration system built right into each home.

"Sinking hundreds of wells by traditional methods would affect ground and surface waters, as well as the general ecosystem," Yates says. "Instead, we borrow the water before ground contamination, use it, re-clean it, and put it back."

Each home is tied into a central wastewater collection system and treated in cutting-edge bioreactors using macrobiotics, UV light, and filters to yield water that is cleaner than the streams and normal ground water. This former wastewater is then used in ponds and irrigation on-site-hence the "putting back."

Even the astoundingly beautiful and spacious clubhouse to be built at Cielo Falls (40,000 square feet) will be a model for efficiency, harnessing solar energy to heat the waters of a world-class swimming pool and replenished by purified stored rainwater, as needed.

For sure, innovative new developments like Cielo Falls are not cutting corners on elegance, though. The spirit of "new mountain living" is not the traditional log cabin or home experience of past decades. Many of the homes sprouting up amid the pristine mountain views at Cielo Falls are in the 2,500- to 5,500- square foot range, with 24 foot great rooms, ten-foot ceilings elsewhere, walk around porches, lower level game rooms and multiple fireplaces, ample bedrooms, high-end finishes, security and automated control systems, high-speed internet, digital cable television and state-of-the-art fiber optic lines. Which all serves to show that efficient can also mean luxurious.

When it comes to the environment, Yates states we are just getting started. "It's an evolving plan. We would like to see cost effective geothermal heating systems as well as wind-power put in place," he says. "Geothermal is the way to go, and we'd like to avoid the use of fossil fuels."

Such progressive measures and their implementation have become a cornerstone of Cielo Falls, which Sprague says is well on it's way to leaving a lasting and positive legacy. He is understandably proud of what has been achieved at Cielo Falls, and hopes to see more of the same across the country.

"What the owners and management have done at Cielo Falls serves as a model that we expect to become standard operating practice in the future," says Sprague. "Natural resources represent 'natural capital,' an integral part of property values. Green space and developed fisheries are attractive assets for homebuyers that support a sustainable recreational opportunity that's also beneficial for the environment."

"For the developer and their buyers there is always the positive feeling of 'leaving a place better than you found it.' There's a positive legacy for conserving and restoring what one owns and manages," says Sprague. "USP Development has fostered an ethic of deep environmental responsibility across its team that surpasses government mandates. At Cielo Falls, the company has created beautiful streams, productive fisheries, and miles of private hiking trails. THI applauds their work and commitment."

In the end, it all serves to illustrate that progressive developers understand how we can be responsible stewards of the environment and everybody benefits and enjoys a higher standard of living and quality of life as a result. And, you don't have to give up the idea of a dream home to do it.