An increased focus on farm-to-table living has spurred a rise in the development of agricultural neighborhoods.

As healthier lifestyle trends continue to gain ground, homebuilders are trying to cash in on consumer sentiment through the creation of “agrihoods.” From the beautiful shores of Ecuador and open pastures of Wyoming to the rolling hills of upstate New Jersey, agrihoods are allowing homeowners to enjoy greater connections to the earth and an enhanced sense of wellbeing.

Oceanside Farms, Ecuador

Photo by Sean Kelly.

A refocus on food origin and quality is a large part of the expansion and appeal of agrihoods. To understand where food comes from and be involved in the process of growing it as part of the living experience sounds simple enough, but nowadays seems almost revolutionary.

Agrihoods go further by linking the home to the farm or garden, and even moreso to amenities. For an agrihood like Willowsford in Loudoun County, Virginia, this reconnection to an all-encompassing community that offers both luxury amenities and farming reverts to an almost transitional lifestyle, modern, but with traditional roots.

This transitional lifestyle is apparent as soon as you enter Willowsford. Though the community spans four distinctive “villages” on over 4,000 acres, it is defined by the recreational spaces and strong food and farm connection that encourage an appreciation for the environment and a commitment to land stewardship.

Everything about Willowsford feels close-knit, from the Farm Garden and Market Stand, open seasonally to residents and the local community with seasonal vegetables, local meat, farm fresh eggs and more, to the Willowsford Conservancy that connects and maintains the community’s forests, trails, streams, fields and farmland.

Willowsford extensively offers residents the chance to not only connect with each other as neighbors, but to connect to their food and drink. When in season, food is sourced mainly from the farm or from farms in the surrounding area.

No matter the time of year, residents can attend events like cooking classes, demonstrations, “Date Nights” or dinners that deepen that feeling of a close-knit family, with modern touches such as live instruction and on-site wine experts that tell the origins of your wine selections.

Through the landscape’s rich agricultural heritage, Willowsford stands out as an agrihood offering a transitional lifestyle, a community with modern home designs and traditional ideals of what it means to be neighbors.

Pendry Natirar, New Jersey

Photos by Christian Horan.

Through agrihoods, culinary experiences developed for residents offer a unique opportunity to revel in the process of cultivating, harvesting, preparing and savoring food in the beautiful landscape where it is grown. For example, Wyoming’s Brush Creek Ranch intends to deliver the new Farm at Brush Creek Ranch to create an immersive epicurean adventure of the highest quality that captures the flavors of the West, according to Michael Williams, executive vice president and COO of Brush Creek Ranch.

“Each of the individual components of The Farm are destinations within themselves…. Each feature maximizes views of the landscape and uses color palettes and design elements from the respective processes (brewing, distilling, cheesemaking, et cetera) and treats both as art for the interiors,” Williams says.

So much of the purpose behind agrihoods relies on education and granting residents accessibility to sustainable farming and resources, ideals that are becoming more appealing to luxury developers, says Wojtowicz. The concept offers a “new way to deliver a deeper connection to the location, wellbeing offerings and, better yet, a sense of community.”

Editor’s Note: Kristen Ordonez visited Willowsford and Ninety Acres as part of this special report.