Picture a brand new suburban development, but instead of being built around a golf course or a clubhouse with a swimming pool, the houses are clustered around a farm. These agricultural neighborhood developments or “agrihoods” are popping up all over the country, including a handful in Florida.
Near Orlando, a 1,200-acre mixed-use subdivision called The Grow just broke ground after years of permitting delays. It’ll be centered around a nine-acre vegetable farm. Near Tallahassee, a gated agrihood community called Pine Dove Farm is taking shape 10 miles from the Florida Capitol. And in western Palm Beach County, a 1,200-acre development called Arden features an organic farm where neighbors can till the soil themselves and reap some of the bounty grown there.
A 2018 report by the Urban Land Institute counted more than 200 agrihoods in 28 states, and plenty more have sprung up since then. Like any development, they come in all shapes and sizes, offering everything from larger working farms to smaller community gardens.
“One of the things that we have emphasized constantly is the need for authenticity. We don’t want the farm to come off in a way that looks like an afterthought, like oh, the developer thought it’d be cool to have a little farm over here, but it’s not really doing anything. We really want the smells and the sounds of hardcore food production,” says Dwight Saathoff, developer of The Grow in east Orange County, where long-term plans call for more than 2,000 homes, two barns, a farm stand, a trail network featuring edible berries, and 33 acres of agricultural land.
Typically, an agrihood’s farm is operated by full-time farmers who work for the development company or the homeowners association. For that, The Grow is partnering with a farm management company called Agmenity, which will also be running the farms and community programming for two upcoming agrihoods in Florida: Lennar’s 6,200-acre Angeline in Pasco County north of Tampa and Mattamy Homes’ Newfield in Palm City near Stuart.
“Twenty years ago, golf courses were seen as a key amenity for these master-planned communities,” says Agmenity COO Justin Myers. “Now there’s been a shift in the collective consciousness in how we think about farming, local food, health and wellness, a connection to nature.”
Opponents of these developments say agrihoods are just another way to justify more development and market high-end homes. Agrihood developers typically respond that their property would get developed at some point anyway, with or without any farmland — and that instead of fairways and putting greens, agrihoods promote farm-to-table produce, farmer’s markets, community gardening and healthier eating.
In Palm Beach County, house prices start at $600,000 in Arden, where residents use an app to schedule when they can pick up produce from the community farm.
At the 220-acre Pine Dove Farm development southeast of Tallahassee, they’ve built nearly 40 houses so far on land that the former owner used for turkey and quail hunting. The homes share the agrihood with a vegetable farm, chicken coops, lakes, four miles of hiking trails with wildlife viewing platforms, and nearly 115 acres of conservation land.
The three- and four-bedroom homes on half-acre lots start at $584,000, says Tallahassee Realtor Mike Ferrie, who’s selling houses there. “People like the peace and quiet of being out in nature,” he says. “It’s a laid-back atmosphere.”
In the Naturehood
Instead of an ordinary neighborhood, it’s a “naturehood.” That’s what the Tavistock development firm is calling its long-planned Sunbridge community south of Orlando. The mixed-use development will include more than 7,000 homes as well as millions of square feet of office space, industrial uses and retail. But plans also call for integrating the community with the preserved natural landscapes and protected waterways that are connected to natural lands bordering the development. The plans also outline strategies for water quality protection, resource conservation, the adoption of renewable energy sources and the promotion of community engagement in environmental initiatives. “We are dedicated to ensuring sustainable living becomes second nature," says Clint Beaty, a Tavistock senior VP and chairman of the Florida Headwaters Foundation, a non-profit created to carry out the naturehood’s mission.