JUNE 13, 2018 VOICES NEWSPAPER PAGE23 Canvas Ready, Work Underway at Willow Creek Estates by Jean Dunn Jun 13, 2018 Raj Bhatia and Jill Sloane are the owner-developers at Willow Creek Estates, Southbury’s only gated community. Twenty-four homesites one two cul-de-sacs offer views of the rolling hills, the pond, the pastures, wooden fences and historic barns of the old Riker’s Horse Farm, lovingly renovated and brought back to life as Willow Creek Equestrian Center. SOUTHBURY — Raj Bhatia and Jill Sloane are taking their time. Raj purchased the old Riker’s Horse Farm, a Southbury landmark on North Georges Hill Road, in 2000, and became a part-time resident; Jill came a few years later after their marriage. The town granted approval for their plans in 2008, but the couple has only recently begun to develop the property now known as Willow Creek Estates, Southbury’s only gated community.
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
JUNE 13, 2018 VOICES NEWSPAPER PAGE23
CanvasReady,WorkUnderwayatWillowCreekEstatesbyJeanDunnJun13,2018
Raj Bhatia and Jill Sloane are the owner-developers at Willow Creek Estates, Southbury’s only gatedcommunity. Twenty-four homesites one two cul-de-sacs offer views of the rolling hills, thepond, thepastures,woodenfencesandhistoricbarnsoftheoldRiker’sHorseFarm,lovinglyrenovatedandbroughtbacktolifeasWillowCreekEquestrianCenter.
SOUTHBURY—RajBhatiaandJillSloanearetakingtheirtime.
RajpurchasedtheoldRiker’sHorseFarm,aSouthburylandmarkonNorthGeorgesHillRoad, in 2000, and became a part-timeresident; Jill came a few years later aftertheirmarriage.
Thetowngrantedapprovalfortheirplansin 2008, but the couple has only recentlybegun todevelop thepropertynowknownasWillow Creek Estates, Southbury’s onlygatedcommunity.
JUNE 13, 2018 VOICES NEWSPAPER PAGE23
“Sometimesthemarket isn’twhereyouareand you have to wait,” said Raj. “So westarted by planting trees, building stonewalls,puttinginthegate.Nowthemarketisstarting to show signs of life, and we’reready.”“Thecanvasisthere,”saidJill.Situatedalongtwocul-de-sacs,sometwo
dozen homesites overlook views of the oldhorsefarm,whichafteryearsofpainstakingrestorationworkhascomebackto lifeasathriving equineboarding and trainingfacility called Willow Creek EquestrianCenter.The“canvas”ofwhichJillspeaksincludes
views of rolling hills, historic barns, atranquil pond, outdoor rings and miles oftrailsandpasture,aswellastwonewstate-of-the-artbarnswithindoorarenas.Fifty-fiveboardersbringnewenergyand
enthusiasmtothe100-acreproperty,whichis also home to four goats, two donkeys,assorted barn cats and a steady stream ofrescue puppies who stay at Willow Creekwhiletransitioningtonewhomes.“Wehavelotswithviewsofthefarmand
wehavelotsthatareinthewoodsandveryprivate,”said Jill.“Mostpeople just lovethelandscapeofthefarm.Thehorsesgiveitsuchtranquility.”Sixofthe24lotsinPhaseIhavebeensold
and the fourth home is currently underconstruction. The seventh lot containsa3,800squarefootmodelhome,ashellthatcan be completed to the buyer’sspecificationswithinfourmonths.The first model home, now a private
residence,canalsobeviewed.Both models were built by Muratori
Builders of Southbury. The couple is alsoworkingwithCorboGroupoutofRoxbury.“Wetookourtimefindingqualitybuilders
who build high end custom homes,” saidRaj.“Wedolikeourtwobuilders,butwe’rehappytohavesomeonecomewiththeirown
builder if they can adhere to ourarchitecturalspecrequirements.”AllhomesatWillowCreekwillbe cedar
with stone accents and architecturalwindowsanddoors.Thereisaminimumsizerestrictionof2,200squarefeet.“Weliveheretoo,”hesaid.“Whenwelook
upthehill,wewanttobeproudofwhatwesee.”Raj told Voices that early on, he had an
offer from a builder who wanted to takeeverylot.“We turned him down,” he said. “We
wanted to take our time and find the rightbuilderswhocouldbuildtherighthomes.”Likewise,Rajhadanearlierpartnerwho
wanted to build houses everywhere on theland.Theyhavesincepartedways.“Thisisabeautifulproperty,”hesaid.“It’saSouthburylandmark.Itdeservessomethingbetter.”Initsheyday,theRiker’sHorseFarmwas
nationally known for raising championQuarterHorses.“The Riker family owned Norris Hockey
League and pieces of Madison SquareGarden,”saidRaj.“In1974,theywonallfourawards for Quarter Horses. The propertyused to have miles and miles of whitefencing.When I found it, it had fallen intodisrepair.It’sbeenalaboroflovegettingtheplacebackinshape.”Raj’sideawastodevelopaportionofthe
103-acre property but put the farm inconservation.“Wewentto thetownandsaid, ‘this isa
historic home and farm. It’s on the muralright here in Town Hall. Let’s come to anagreementonhowtodothat.’“Wedecided toput50acresof the farm
into a PDD, a conservation zone,” heexplained.“Fortheother50acres,wegotavariancetodothingsalittledifferently.Wehavethesamenumberoflots,buttherearesmaller lots in some places, bigger ones inothers.
JUNE 13, 2018 VOICES NEWSPAPER PAGE23
“DeLorisCurtisandtheboardshavebeenfabuloustodealwith.”Open houses are scheduled at Willow
CreekEstatesmostSundays, andaccordingto Jill, they’ve been busy. She frequentlyhears comments that people are looking inSouthburybecauseof theRegion15schoolsystem,andthey’relookingatWillowCreekbecausetheyfeelsafeinagatedcommunity.“It’snotthatSouthburyisn’tasafetown,”
saidRaj. “It’sverysafehere.But it’sagoodfeelingwhenyoucanwalkontheroadsandknowthateveryoneyousee issupposedtobehere.It’salittlethingthatmakespeoplefeelsafer.”They are also seeing people who are
interestedinnewconstruction.“We all know you can buy a very large
house in Southbury for $550,000 to$600,000,” said Jill, “butmost are 20 to 30
years old. The kitchens and baths areoutdated.“That’swhat’sbringingalotoftrafficto
us.For$750,000youcangetthedreamhouseyoureallywantwitheverythingnew
and improved, energy efficiency, thekitchenandbathroomsyoulove.“Renovatingcostsalotmorethanpeople
think,”shesaid.“Whenyoubuyahome,that$750,000 is in your mortgage. When yourenovate,it’sout-of-pocket.”Raj earned his undergraduate degree in
electrical engineering from LehighUniversity and his MBA from Columbia.Hehas been a real estate investor inManhattan since1997and is themanagingpartnerofRenwickCapital,LLC.Jill has been an associate broker with
Halstead inNewYorkCityandConnecticut
Twenty-four homesites comprise Phase I at Willow Creek Estates, a gated community located on North Georges Hill Road in Southbury. Homes at Willow Creek will be cedar with stone accents and architectural windows and doors. Two model homes, including the one pictured above, now a private residence, were built by Muratori Builders of Southbury.
JUNE 13, 2018 VOICES NEWSPAPER PAGE23
since 1999, and has been one of their topagentsforyears.Both are licensed pilots, flying out of
OxfordAirport.“We’re heremost of the time now,” said
Jill.“Wegotothecityabouttwotimesaweekforbusiness,butthisisourhome.”RajandJillhaverenovatedtheproperty’s
historichomeastheirresidence.Thecenterofthehouse,essentiallyacottage,wasbuiltin 1938. An addition in 1944 on one sidegreatlyenlarged thehome, asdida secondadditionon theotherside in1970,but thethree sections were never fully integrateduntilnow.Havingremained in the house during all
phasesofconstruction,Jillsayssheisfinally“inherhappyplace.”
“I love living in Southbury,” she said.“Everyone is so nice.We love all the greatrestaurantsnearby.”They may not have lived here for
generations, but Jill and Raj are amongSouthbury’sbiggestboosters.Together,they
haveproducedvideos,viewableonYouTube,that promote not only Willow CreekEquestrianCenterandWillowCreekEstates,butthetowningeneral.“We’renotjustdevelopers,”Rajsaid.“We
livehere.Wecareaboutwhathappenshere.“There’s a social aspect to what we’re
doing here,” he said. “We had a MexicanfiestaoneSaturdaynightforalltheboarders,and the people who live here are allinvited.Thereareweekendget-togethersinthe customer lounge by the silowith pizzaand wine.We have a bigChristmas partyeveryyearwithatoydrivefortheSalvationArmy.“It’sfuntobehere,”hesaid.“Youwon’tbe
bored.”Evan and Julie Nichols are among those
who have built a home at Willow CreekEstates.“There’satremendousfeelingofcalmness
yougetwhenyou stepoutsideandsoak inthe amazing views and sounds of WillowCreek Farm,” said Evan, noting the rollinghills, the pastures, the pond and theequestrianfacilities.“Ourkids love it, too,”hesaid. “Catching
fireflies,feedingdonkeysandgoatsandevenridinghorses—WillowCreekEstatescanattimesfeellikeasummercampforthem.“We’resohappytohavemet JillandRaj
and be able to build a house in such anincredibletownandcommunity.”RajandJillarelookingtotakeonanother
project, a proposed subdivision on 68woodedacresinneighboringRoxbury.Ifapproved,TheWoodswillcomprise11
homeson4+acreseach,withaseven-and-a-half acre conservation areafor use by allresidents.“It’s such a beautiful property,” said Jill.
“The entire property has a canopy withamazing views.We also had a partnerwhowantedmoreyield,butRoxburyregulationscallforfour-acrezoning,andwestuckwiththat.
JUNE 13, 2018 VOICES NEWSPAPER PAGE23
“We found a house that fits on the landlike a glove, that won’t require a lot ofexcavation,” she said. “We’re being verycareful with the builder, like we’ve donehere.”Following some fine-tuning, Raj and Jill
recently resubmitted their application toRoxbury’sInlandWetlandsCommission.“We’re sticking to the Roxbury
regulations 100 percent,” Raj said. “We’rebeing sensitive towetlands considerations,propersetbacks,buffering,habitatcreation,everything. We’re not asking for anyvariances.“Willow Creek began as our weekend
home and a project to take on,” hesaid.“Roxburyisthesame.We’relookingtohavealittlehouseontheRoxburyproperty,alittleget-away.“Wewanttodoitright.”Those seeking additional information
about Willow Creek Estates mayvisitwcestates.com. Preliminary details onThe Woods can be viewedatTheWoodsRoxbury.com.
Related Documents
