Serosun FarmsHAMPSHIRE, ILL,  February 24, 2011.
Custom Luxury, Environmental Sustainability in Kane County Green community in Hampshire offers 1-acre home sites, equestrian center, working farm and many more amenities. Special pricing available for early homebuyers.

One of the most sustainable residential communities in the country is taking shape less than an hour’s drive from downtown Chicago. Serosun Farms, located in Hampshire, Ill., 4 miles west of Route 47, is bringing a unique blend of high-performance custom-built homes and environmentally sustainable living to 410 acres of picturesque countryside in Kane County. Upon completion, Serosun Farms will offer 114 1-acre custom home sites as well as 300 acres of open space. Community amenities include a 160-acre working sustainable farm, state-of-the-art equestrian center and community center with swimming pool and event facilities.

Currently, Serosun Farms’ developer is offering special home site pricing for the first 15 homebuyers. “Serosun Farm's unique combination of luxury living and advanced conservation techniques sets a new standard for sustainable communities,” said John DeWald, president of John DeWald & Associates, the developer of Serosun Farms. “Our first estate members will receive outstanding pricing and the choicest home sites and will get to be a part of a truly unique community-building experience.”

High Performance Homes Each homebuyer at Serosun Farms will be intimately involved in the design and construction of their home. Buyers work hand-in-hand with Serosun’s green building team of award-winning architects and builders to understand and incorporate green features such as passive design elements (wind and sun patterns), rain-water collection systems and geo-thermal heating and cooling, as well as the overall architectural style, floor plan, smart-home technology and finishes. “It’s a real collaboration from the very conceptual stages of choosing a home style to the ‘open-book’ budgeting that allows buyers to be in the driver’s seat on controlling costs,” said Robert Roper, sales associate with @properties and director of sales for Serosun Farms. “It’s a very refreshing approach.”

Homes will range in size from approximately 2,500 to 6,000 square feet and will be priced from the $600,000s to around $2.5 million. The pricing includes the home site. The community will feature a range of architectural styles including Prairie, Victorian and Craftsman. Sustainable Community Living More than just a collection of green homes, Serosun Farms also creates a symbiotic relationship with its surroundings. It is a community where energy is drawn from natural resources, while eco-friendly programs and practices maintain or restore natural areas and prevent land degradation. Sustainable community features include: • More than 300 acres of open space • A 160-acre working farm • A Farmer’s Market selling fresh produce, flowers, free-range poultry, grass-fed beef and specialty items • Wildlife habitat and prairie restoration • Hay production to support the equestrian center • Permeable driveways and transitional prairie grass to slow water runoff • Community gardens for residents to grow their own fruits and vegetables “The entire community is one big closed-loop system,” said DeWald. “The result is a lifestyle that celebrates community, healthy living and nature.”

Equestrian and Recreational Activities Serosun Farms also features state-of-the-art equestrian boarding and training facilities. The equestrian center will include 36 large stalls, veterinary, breeding and fitness facilities, indoor and outdoor riding areas, dressage and jumping rings and a number of all-weather paddocks and pastures. “People who ride and train horses know what a time-intensive activity it is. So it’s an enormous benefit to equestrian enthusiasts to have a facility like this literally a few hundred yards from the dream home you conceived and built. There’s absolutely no compromise,” said Roper. The community will offer a variety of other recreational amenities, including a swimming pool and fitness center; jogging, hiking and biking trails; tennis and basketball courts; a stocked fishing pond; a bar and grill; and meeting/event facilities. “At Serosun, you have the opportunity to build your dream home on a beautiful 1-acre lot, but you also get 300 acres of open space to enjoy,” said DeWald. Serosun Farms is located near Interstate-90 and the intersection of Route 20 and Route 72.

Homeowners can enjoy the peacefulness of country living along with convenient access to dining, shopping and entertainment in the nearby towns of Huntley, Elgin, St. Charles and Geneva. O’Hare International Airport is only 40 minutes away. Serosun Farms is located at 45W489 Berner Rd. in Hampshire. The community is shown by appointment.

For more information, visit http://www.serosunfarms.com or call 847-683-4796. About the Developer Founded in 2001 by John DeWald and Scott Kelly, John DeWald and Associates (JDA) provides real estate consulting, development, and construction services. By leveraging an extensive team of professionals, JDA brings over 100 years of collective real estate experience to projects including custom single-family residences, distinctive condominium properties, and innovative mixed-use developments that combine residential, retail, office, equestrian, and agricultural elements. For Serosun Farms, JDA has assembled a talented team that includes master custom builder Stoneridge Builders Inc. of Prairie Grove, Ill., and Evanston-based Kettelkamp & Kettelkamp Landscape Architecture. For more information, visit www.serosunfarms.com.

About @properties Established in 2000, @properties is the #1 real estate brokerage firm in Chicago with more than 950 licensed agents. @properties is also Chicago’s development sales leader having marketed more than 150 projects comprising more than 5,000 residential units valued in excess of $2 billion. The company has seven Chicago-area offices in the city and suburbs. For more information, visit www.atproperties.com.

Watch the youtube link below to see a digital model of Serosun Farms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgjqm2C38hM

Serosun Farms will host its second annual Lilac Festival on Saturday, May 22 from noon to 4 p.m. at 45W 489 Berner Road. The festival, which welcomes spring and the planting season at the Stickland/DeWald family farm, will feature sustainable building demonstrations, pumpkin seed planting, family hay rides, games, golf tours and nature walks. Fresh 105.9 FM’s Steve Fisher will emcee the event. With three-quarters of its 410 acres being preserved as farmland and open space, an equestrian center, organic farm and eight miles of recreational trails, Serosun Farms is expected to become the most sustainable community in the nation. 

Its commitment to providing a living example for land management, sustainable development, farming and community life is exemplified through its innovative land use management, green building design, renewable energy resources, sustainable farming practices, innovative green landscaping programs and community, cultural and educational programs. The idea for the Lilac Festival originated as an extension of a family tradition of the developer, John DeWald, and his sister Jane Stickland. “Every year our family would come together in May and celebrate Mother’s Day, our mother’s birthday and the arrival of spring. Our home was surrounded by fragrant lilacs and they always remind us of a feeling of community and warmth. We want to extend the opportunity to celebrate this wonderful time of year to not only our family, but friends, neighbors and other community members,” says Stickland. 
The festival is open to the public and includes sustainable building demonstrations, pumpkin seed planting, family hay rides, games, golf cart tours and nature walks. Jack Pizzo of Pizzo & Associates, Ltd, an ecological restoration firm restoring more than 150 acres of the farm to prairie, wetlands and savannah woodlands, will lead a nature tour of the community at 2pm. Kettelkamp & Kettelkamp, the landscape architect of Serosun Farms, will hold hourly planting demonstrations. 

Visitors can also tour the equestrian center; view plans for the farm, equestrian center expansion and residential community, and acquire detailed information on the community from its new sales office. Serosun Farms’ sustainable building team will also be on hand to discuss their involvement in the community. Serosun Farms has gathered together the best in the region of builders, contractors and vendors that provide the various elements of high performance, sustainable homes as well as partners that promote other aspects of sustainable living and development including local and sustainable agriculture and food production, natural resources conservation, prairie restoration, sustainable landscaping and sustainable equestrian operations. 

Serosun Farms’ green building team includes local contractors and services as well as national suppliers integrated together to provide the most efficient and cost effective approach to building high performance and significantly sustainable homes. This team will serve as a model for how high performance homes will be built in the future. For more information or directions, visit http://www.serosunfarms.com or call 847.683.9465.

Serosun Farms announced today that the Kane County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve final zoning for its 410-acre conservation community that will feature an equestrian center, an organic farm and eight miles of recreational trails. Development is scheduled to begin early in the spring of 2010.

“With final approval from the Kane County Board of Commissioners, we will now create a community of the future that lives in harmony with its surrounding environment. Land and resources are utilized in a sustainable manner, so intense use will not degrade the land, natural systems or the community. From land preservation, to green building, Serosun Farms incorporates all aspects of sustainable development into its community,” says John DeWald of John DeWald & Associates. “This will be the first development under Kane County’s new 2030 plan with land use practices promoting agricultural preservation and local farming at the suburban edge. Our community will serve as a model for future sustainable development in the Chicago area and the U.S.” Serosun Farms assembled a “green building team” to ensure the community utilizes the best in high-performance, eco-friendly products and services to design and build the custom homes on the site. The team is comprised of more than 25 members including developers, architects, builders, trade contractors, consultants and technology vendors.

High- performance, sustainable homes will be built to the stringent design guidelines of the community and will meet the requirements of NAHB Green Build, USGBC LEED, EPA Energy Star and American Lung Association Healthy Home programs. The green homes built on the farm estate will range from smaller country cottages to mid-sized farm homes and larger country estates. “Our green building team provides a tightly integrated and highly motivated team that understands each other’s talents and needs. Our goal is to put together a high-performance home that works, making it simple and easy for a home buyer to get a beautiful home that is sustainable and will take care of its owner. No other development has a team like this,” says DeWald. The concept for Serosun Farms began out of concern over the encroaching suburbs and traditional housing developments 60 miles west of Chicago.

Approached by his sister Jane Stickland (who lives on the farm), John DeWald developed the concept for a farm estate that preserves land by using limited residential development. This concept has evolved into a sustainable community with horse and farm operations and will serve as a model for future transitional areas between suburb and farmland by preserving the area’s rural heritage. Serosun Farms will feature: • A160-acre working organic farm. Organic and sustainable farming will include hay and silage production, grass fed beef operations, orchards and berry operations, organic vegetables and cut flower production, and prairie seed production. • An on-site Farmer’s Market with organic and natural produce and farm-raised meat.

Plans also call for an on-site market/restaurant, Interpretation Center, solar and wind turbine energy producing systems and a line of organic and natural products. • A first-class equestrian barn facility including indoor and outdoor arenas with dressage and jumping rings, 40 stalls, paddocks and pastures, a fitness center and breeding facilities. • Approximately 260 acres of open space and farmland on the estate and an additional 50 acres in protected open space in deed restricted areas.

Eight miles of recreational trails provide scenic views of the natural areas, horses and farmland. • A park and garden area including a pond, formal gardens, gazebos, picnic and grilling areas, a playground, ball field, tennis court and fitness circuit. • High-performance, sustainable homes expected to use 80-90 percent less energy and 50 percent less water than a traditional home. The community will feature geothermal energy, water harvesting, solar energy and the latest and most advanced sustainable, energy-efficient materials available. • 114 estate lots for custom country homes built with green building guidelines.