Getaway home hunters from the hectic and hassle-filled city can take a step back into time to a simpler place at Walden, a 22-home community of classic summer cottages in New Buffalo, Mich., in the heart of Harbor Country.
“Walden is truly ideal for the second-home market,” says Karen Conner, president of Esperanza Development Group Inc., the community’s developer. “Retiring Baby Boomers looking to move to Harbor Country would love it here.”
Built with traditional cottage features, Walden is boastfully low maintenance. Secluded on 10 acres of wooded land, the cottages are purposefully compact and designed with the “downscale market” in mind – buyers who may be selling large second homes or condominiums in the city in order to purchase a getaway property in a more quaint and quiet enclave. Walden is also attractive for buyers who want to retire from the urban drama altogether and settle into a peaceful, private and frill-free existence.
The concept for Walden was to build a comfortable, more compact home that’s low maintenance. There are no lawns or pools to care for, no clubhouses, no streetlights, and no paved roads, Conner adds.
“This is a throwback for people who want the serenity of the old days, the 1920s and easy life, where you can go into the woods and take an outdoor shower in the moonlight,” Conner says. “It is your getaway. A place to walk, to read, to think and to be romantic.”
Four cottage styles are available, and are nestled among 90-foot to 100-foot trees, accessible only by gravel roads. They are awash in earth tones and natural materials.
Construction at Walden is accented with board-and-batten siding, large beadboard overhangs and bamboo flooring. The homes were designed to be close to the earth, with a gradual grade to the French doors that open to the living space.
“This is the ultimate retreat for people who want to get back to nature,” Conner says. “Imagine playing dominoes on the screened porch at night and listening for owls. Take long walks, and then languish in your soaking tub. Wake up on lazy mornings with the aroma of coffee and bacon wafting up into your beamed pine ceilings.”
Kitchens are equipped with Frigidaire stainless-steel appliances, refrigerator-freezer with automatic icemaker, dishwasher, gas stove and range, microwave oven with exhaust fan, stackable washer and dryer and garbage disposal unit. Cabinets are maple and custom painted and glazed.
Baths are equipped with oversized soaking tubs and showers with ceramic surround and brushed nickel vanity fixtures. An outdoor shower is optional.
Each cottage is equipped with a gas furnace and air conditioning system, cable TV, phone and high-speed Internet wiring. Cottages also have a wood-burning fireplace with ceramic façade.
For more information, call 269.469.0505, or visit www.waldennewbuffalo.com.
WALDEN
LOCATION New Buffalo, Mich.
HOUSING TYPE Single-family cottages
NUMBER OF UNITS 22
NUMBER SOLD 5
PRICE RANGE $345,000 – $449,000
DELIVERY DATE 2-3 months for each cottage
CO-OP 2.5%
DEVELOPER Esperanza Development Group Inc.