new home developments - Carmel Monthly Magazine

August 2019 Writers // Janelle Morrison and Neil Lucas Photography // Submitted “Our homes, communities, and surrounding environment directly affect our daily behaviors and lifestyles, and together these determine up to 80-90% of our health outcomes.” (Global Wellness Institute, “Build Well to Live Well: Wellness Lifestyle Real Estate and Communities,” January 2018) Many of us today live in very large housing developments while at the same time experience little or no interaction with our neighbors. Feelings of inclusion and a sense of community are nearly obsolete in most suburban residential communities. Having been developed with row after row of “cookie-cutter” homes—which do little to nothing to promote interaction—many of today’s residential communities leave residents feeling a sense of isolation and depression, which can negatively affect one’s general overall health. The loss of a sense of community has driven astute developers throughout the globe and across the nation to rethink the way they are developing communities. Central Indiana’s premier community developer and home builder Duke Homes has introduced this global “wellness lifestyle community” concept here in Indiana with the launch of its latest community—Aberdeen. What Does the Term “Wellness Lifestyle Community” Mean? Although new to Indiana, developers across the country are embracing the concept of creating communities with wellness lifestyle as the principal focus of the community’s design. As defined by Global Wellness Institute (GWI), “Wellness lifestyle real estate is defined as homes that are proactively designed and built to support the holistic health of their residents. Wellness community is a group of people living in close proximity who share common goals, interests, and experiences in proactively pursuing wellness across its many dimensions. It can be rooted in a purpose-built physical space or can be cultivated around shared culture or social networks without purpose-built structures.” (Global Wellness Institute, “Build Well to Live Well: Wellness Lifestyle Real Estate and Communities,” January 2018) Specifically, GWI identified the following as one of the objectives of wellness lifestyle communities. “Design of living spaces, public/common spaces, and amenities/services facilitates social connections with family, friends, and neighbors. Residents are encouraged to get to know their neighbors.” The Growth of the Wellness Real Estate Market As published by GWI, the wellness real estate grew “6.4% annually since 2015, to reach $134 billion in 2017, and will expand 6% yearly through 2022 to reach $180 billion. The U.S., along with a few key Asian countries (China, Australia, India) and Europe (UK, Germany), account for three-quarters of the market.” In areas of the U.S. where “wellness living” has become an innovator in both urban and senior living markets, the concept is also attractive to millennials who are dismissing the expansive golf course communities of their parents’ generation and gravitating to developments that focus on old concepts made new again, such as sustainability and a sense of community. Another new buzz word, the term “agrihood”—short for “agricultural neighborhoods”—is a real estate buzz word that defines a concept conceived in the U.S. by innovators in the real estate industry who are developing and redeveloping communities around the idea of sustainability by incorporating the communities with working farms. There are approximately 150 agrihoods in the U.S. Duke Homes has introduced Indiana’s first agrihood with the launch of their newest residential community, Aberdeen. What developers of agrihoods have learned is that there is a growing percentage of the population who want to live differently from the recent generations of homeowners. They want access to local, organic produce that they’ve planted and harvest themselves, they want walkability in their neighborhoods and they want built-in opportunities to be social with their neighbors. Duke Homes understands and believes in this ideology of wellness lifestyles. There is a growing need and want for this kind of development from local homeowners. Duke Homes recognized that and responded to that need with the development of Aberdeen in Center Grove. The Launch of Duke Homes’ Aberdeen For nine generations, the Duke family has called the Center Grove area home. Michael “Mike” Duke is the owner of Duke Homes, and his great-great-great-great grandfather, John Duke, settled in the nearby area after the Revolutionary War, where the family has been farming ever since. Mike and his family were raised on the generational farm near the Aberdeen development in Bargersville, Indiana. For more than three decades, Duke and his team have been developing communities and building custom homes, creating a reputation for quality craftsmanship and integrity. Its mission statement is, “To impact the communities we live, work, and build in to such a degree that they be recognized as places where residents love their neighbors as themselves better than anywhere else in the Midwest." “This our 33rd year in business,” Duke said. “It started in 1986 prior to me graduating from with a degree in finance and real estate. We’ve developed several neighborhoods, including Kensington Grove, Serenity Woods, and we build on undeveloped lots. I grew up in the building industry. My dad was the CFO for Carter-Lee Lumber for 38 years. Now my dad and brother run the farm full time.” Though he’s a devoted his career to building and developing, Duke still maintains some acreage and cattle of his own. ‘I don’t have fun on the tractors like I used to, but it was important for us to raise our kids on the farm,” Duke said. “There are nine generations of the Duke family in this area, and we want the area to continue to be great for not only the future generations of our family but for all of the families who live here too.” Duke Homes developed Aberdeen with a strong focus on developing amenities that cultivate connections to people and nature. The rolling terrain offers residents of Aberdeen not only respite but space to wander, engage and connect with like-minded neighbors of all ages. The upscale subdivision, located in Center Grove, brings back timeless features within its rolling terrain, offering peace of mind, room to breathe and space to connect for all ages. Available lots average 1 acre and home prices—including lot—start at $650,000. Aberdeen’s Unique Amenities Aberdeen’s agrihood areas will provide opportunities to get hands-on through cultivating, harvesting or partaking of various fruits and vegetables grown in common areas. This farm-to-table amenity will likely include more perennials than not in order to limit required maintenance. Aberdeen provides ample gathering spots designed to cultivate connections between residents, their families and friends. These gathering spaces include sitting areas along trails and lakes. Provided programmed activities designed to engage residents of Aberdeen will include food truck Fridays, summer movies and/or concerts on the lawn and fitness classes in the community building. Agricultural and children’s activities will also be developed for residents. Aberdeen is in close proximity to Center Grove School District’s newest state-of-the-art elementary school, Walnut Grove. Center Grove School Corporation was just awarded the Indiana Department of Education Four Star School Award for 2017. Walnut Grove has dedicated wildlife zones and walking paths that help extend neighboring Aberdeen’s walkability into the community. Within a five-minute drive of Aberdeen are Mallow Run Winery, Taxman Brewery and Johnson’s BBQ Shack. There are 12 excellent golf courses within a 25-minute drive for the avid golfer as well. Location, Location, Location! Aberdeen is located in the beautiful town of Bargersville, Indiana, in Johnson County, just 20 miles south of downtown Indianapolis. Commuting to Indianapolis, Nashville or Bloomington is convenient because of State Road 135, County Road 144 and State Road 37. With the expansion of I-69, Aberdeen is a convenient and short commutable distance to Columbus, Indiana, Bloomington and downtown Indianapolis, which may be appealing to employees commuting long distance for work. With global headquarters relocating to Indianapolis’ south side area, such as Cummins, Aberdeen is an attractive community to those who are still part of the area workforce. “A lot of people move to Bargersville because of the Center Grove Schools,” Duke said. “The schools have done a great job of not increasing taxes in addition to having excellent academic and athletic programs. There’s a lot going on in the town of Bargersville these days too. We’re excited about the I-69 interstate exchange that will be done in 2022. The entire I-69 expansion is slated to be completed by 2024. We’ve been very involved with the expansion project because we have 140 acres of land involved. The interstate exchange will be two minutes from Aberdeen and will make us just that much closer to Indianapolis, so it will be an advantage for this area when its completed.” Isaac Duke, Mike’s son, who is the vice president of operations at Duke Homes, joined the conversation and added, “One of the great selling points for our area is that we don’t have the congestion that you find in other areas around Indy, and we’re not that far of a commute to the airport. Accessibility goes along with the wellness lifestyle that we’re selling. We are a community-focused community that is here not just to do business but to make an impact in the community that goes a little deeper than just being area custom home builders.” Establishing the Aberdeen Foundation Out of its commitment to family and community, Duke Homes has established the Aberdeen Foundation, a community foundation that will eventually work with local organizations and nonprofits to fill in the voids of the community where the need for assistance exists. “We are putting in $500 per lot sold into the foundation,” Isaac shared. “We announced at Aberdeen’s ribbon cutting that there will be a total of $200,000 that we’ve put into the Aberdeen Foundation with the purpose that people who live in the neighborhood will become a part of the foundation and contribute to it. The foundation will seek out different types of needs, such as food insecurity or other needs related to the community. The Aberdeen Foundation will be another opportunity for residents of Aberdeen to engage and become involved in the community. Creating these opportunities and establishing the Aberdeen Foundation is very important to us.” Duke Homes Recognized as an Award-Winning Builder Recognized as a best-of-show award winner at past Home-A-Ramas, a top Indy custom home builder by the IBJ, and a 5-star home builder on Houzz.com, Duke Homes crafts timelessly designed homes that are sure to amaze. Each home is individually designed with the specific lot, wish list, design preferences, and functional needs of the client in mind. Rather than another standard neighborhood with identical or near-identical homes, Aberdeen aims to allow a unique array of different style homes bringing aesthetic beauty and diversity to the upscale neighborhood. If you are interested in living in a wellness lifestyle community with innovative amenities and accessibility without the headache of congested highways and long commutes and are seeking the opportunity to build your custom dream home on a spacious lot with a family-owned and -operated builder that has vested interests throughout the community, do not wait—contact Duke Homes and schedule a tour of Aberdeen today! Visit aberdeenliving.com to schedule your appointment and for more information on the community and Center Grove area. Global Wellness Institute, Build Well to Live Well: Wellness Lifestyle Real Estate and Communities, (2018, January)

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Aberdeen: An Upscale Gated Community with Wellness Lifestyle Amenities