The new face of real estate development may be that of a farmer, and Olivette, a new community along the French Broad River in Woodfin , NC may be the first of its kind in the area. Even before completing the master plan for the community, real estate developers Tama Dickerson and Scott Austin had hired farmers and planted nearly 500 blueberry bushes.
“Agrihood” is the term now widely used to describe the integration of farming, gardening. and other sustainable practices into residential community development, and while the word “agrihood” may not be the catchiest term, the concept is catching on. Googling the term yields over 7,500 results, including articles about communities in most of the nation’s largest real estate markets. In spite of a thriving farm-to-table community, Asheville is behind the agrihood trend, but not for long. Olivette’s first phase will go on sale in early August, and if successful, expect other developers to follow suit.
Olivette developer Scott Austin said, “It seemed like such a huge leap when we took on the farm, but now it feels like an essential part of the community, which it truly is. We’re rediscovering what community planners have known all along: food comes first.”