New wisteria for luxury community resort
The Wisteria community will feature a plethora of exclusive amenities, including a market, a bar and a fitness center. The project will bring 33 new courtyard homes to the resort’s pre-existing options of shared and split living and condos. When combined, it will provide housing for approximately 300 Nemacolin partners.
Located on 2,200 acres of land in Farmington, Pennsylvania, the luxury resort describes itself as a “real-life wonderland” offering outdoor adventures, fine dining and events, according to co-developer 84 Lumber.
“Because we are located in rural Pennsylvania, for the type of talent we want to attract and retain at the resort, we don’t have anything like this in the area, so we built a suburb within the resort community itself,” he said. Trey Matthew, General Manager, Nemacolin. “We wanted to bring the same level of resort luxury to our shared residences.”
Employee housing history
While wisteria offers a new foray into associate housing in the hospitality sector, the concept itself is not new. We have seen school districts build workforce housing for their employees in order to reduce high turnover rates (which are affected by the lack of affordable housing in the area).
One of the projects undertaken by the Jefferson Union High School District is the first K-12 school district to pass an exclusive bond to build an affordable housing community for teachers and staff. 705 Serramonte, built specifically for district faculty and staff, provides Bay Area teachers with housing at a fraction of market rate costs — up to 50 percent.
Meanwhile, in mountainous regions of the United States, ski resorts and vacation areas have begun building employee housing as well. The Grand Targhee Resort in Alta., Wyoming, built 16 units for its staff in response to the influx of people buying second homes throughout the region.
Similar situations have affected workers across the country – from nurses and lab technicians in Bozeman, Mont., to real estate developers in Panama City Beach, Fla. Employee housing benefits workers with access to a reliable and affordable home, and gives companies the potential for a competitive advantage.
“As the (Nemacolin) property continues to grow and expand, it is important that our associates have better and easier access to high-quality resources and an attractive community to call home,” says Maggie Hardy, owner and CEO of 84 Lumber.
In the construction team:
Owner/Developer: Nemacolin, 84 Lumber
Architectural design: Aoba Design
Interior design: Melissa Maclay Interiors
Retail Design: King Retail Solutions
General Contractor: Martik Brothers, Inc.