Chickahominy Falls Clubhouse rendering (Photo courtesy Chickahominy Falls)
Roger Glover has been building homes exclusively for 55-plus buyers for more than 20 years. This summer, he and his team are set to break ground on a new project, one that’s a first for this homebuilding veteran — a 180-acre planned community in western Hanover County that will feature a working farm at its center. The community, called Chickahominy Falls, is the first agricultural neighborhood, or “agrihood,” to be built in the Richmond area. The Urban Land Institute estimates there are about 200 similar developments nationwide, including Willowsford in Loudoun County.
Often agrihoods are built with younger homebuyers in mind, but Glover says he knew immediately after visiting a few such developments that the model would fit his 55-plus buyers. He believes the farm concept will bring something more exciting than the typical clubhouse or golf course to his homebuyers, who, he contends, place a high value on healthy living, just like their younger counterparts. In addition to the farm, Chickahominy Falls will feature a community center called “The Barn” that will host activities like cooking classes and canning workshops.
More than 1,500 people have joined the development’s online mailing list—nearly four times the number of home sites the project will include. One of those people is Mary Leffler. She and her husband, Jim, are in their early sixties and say they want to retire in a few years to a home in the development.
“We’ve usually lived in older homes, whether it be in the city or the country,” Leffler says. “But something about [Chickahominy Falls] grabbed me. It’s got all those elements of sustainability I value in life.”
