When I first set eyes on the future site of Crescere Agri-Resort & Spa, the expansive vista that suddenly opened up after emerging from the long wooded drive left me speechless. The owner, Barbara Miller, turned to me with her bright blue eyes and excited wide grin and exclaimed, “I know!” I understood what she was so excited about. This place was magical.
Crescere, which we named for the Latin verb, to grow, is a stunning farm set amidst one of the most topographically diverse sites I’ve ever encountered with rolling hills, lovely waterways, forests, cliffsides and unique bottomlands all surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains. Each view is more spectacular than the next and honestly looks, well, like the most beautiful bucolic painting you’ve ever seen.
The concept for Crescere Agri-Resort & Spa was born out of Barbara’s advocacy for and belief in hemp as an Earth saving plant. While at Hemp Victory Day in Washington D.C. shortly after the passing of the historic 2018 Farm Bill, plans to grow this re-legalized crop on her newly acquired 762 acre farm began to take form. Recognizing the opportunity to teach the world about this amazing carbon sequestering plant from which almost anything can be made, Barbara assembled a team eager to assist in the development of Crescere into a one of a kind eco-resort.
After touring the land and having the same response I’d had (and pretty much anyone else lucky enough to come for a visit) the award winning design firms, Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects (NBW), and Dalgliesh Gilpin Paxton Architects (DGP), signed on to work hand-in-hand with Barbara and her team to craft the Master Plan for what will become Crescere Agri-Resort and Spa. With a conservationist’s eye to disturb the landscape as minimally as possible, the development will take full advantage of the wonderful view shed while siting each structure into the natural setting in an unobtrusive way.
With plans to re-introduce indigenous flora and fauna habitats, something NBW is well known for, we strive to give back to the land what has been lost. Complementary architecture blending vernacular Mediterranean and pastoral Virginia aesthetics, a hallmark of DGP, will further enhance this vision for building in harmony with the land.
Resort plans include a large Event Venue for weddings and other celebrations, industry conventions, community events and annual thought leader gatherings. A Welcome Center will house our concierge, a farm to table restaurant, bar and a farm store featuring local products, all surrounded by terraces and a chef’s garden. We will offer guests a choice of several luxury glamping “neighborhoods” with distinct personalities (i.e., river view, family sites, cliff top, wooded sites…) as well as four-season cottages; all with an array of unique un-plugged activities for guests to enjoy. A rustic gathering lodge will bring guests together to plan their day or share stories from their adventures. The existing farm center will be enhanced for education and guest participation. A spa cottage will provide a low key yet luxurious experience.
Set just ninety minutes south of Washington D.C., ninety minutes west of Richmond and forty-five minutes north of Charlottesville, Crescere is perfectly positioned to serve several major metropolitan areas with access to four airports. In addition to on-site adventures, our premier location in Central Virginia’s renowned Piedmont Region offers all manner of excursions. Local winery and distillery tours, hiking in beautiful Shenandoah National Park, shopping in historic downtown Charlottesville and visiting national landmarks such as Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and James Madison’s Montpelier are just a few of the area’s many attractions.
Initially, zoning was an issue as there was nothing written in Madison County code remotely resembling an agri-resort. Months were spent writing the new zoning, attending council meetings and, happily, eventually garnering the support for this project that will bring tourism and employment opportunities to this rural community.
A challenge we continue to face is the transition from conventional to sustainable farming practices as the farmers who have been working this land for many years use conventional grain farming practices. Hemp requires no spraying of herbicides, but that is not the case for some of the other rotational crops so getting local farmer buy-in is critical as well as recruiting the right resources to support us in this effort.
With our belief in hemp as an Earth saving plant, we plan to showcase hemp products throughout the resort in every respect feasible from the use of hemp canvas for our glamping tents, to luxurious hemp sheets and terry robes, to use in our building materials (hempcrete where possible). We plan to offer CBD infused spirits and hemp food options, hemp clothing in the farm store, CBD oil products in the Spa, all the way down to the hemp bio-plastic used to manufacture our resort pens.
All who come will be able to experience the vast potential this plant has to offer – and for those who don’t care about hemp… well, they will have an amazing time reconnecting with nature and enjoying a wide array of activities.
Our mission was inspired by Barbara’s wish to demonstrate that sustainable farm practices and complementary lifestyle are not only achievable but desirable. Being a seasoned world traveler herself, she knows this does not have to come at the expense of the luxurious experience we intend to provide. The glamping sites will be built upon platforms with heated flooring, full bathrooms and luxurious appointments done in a classic yet comfortable Virginian style.
We plan to take advantage of as much alternative energy as possible (solar and off-grid solutions) and promote a “green” lifestyle through the use and sale of local products from vendors that share our vision of returning to a simpler time while embracing smart technology. Efforts will be made to eliminate single use plastics through the provision of re-useable water bottles and water filling stations throughout the site. Additionally, guests will be provided with rechargeable electric ATV’s to navigate the property during their stay, as all guests’ vehicles will remain off the internal farm roads to minimize carbon footprint. We look forward to discussing alternative energy solutions with the Eco Resort Network and to garner information on additional sustainable hospitality practices from industry experts and others who have gone down this path before us to ensure development of a comprehensive approach.
We do anticipate that our project will be phased and have designed the event venue to house all critical hospitality functions until we build out. We are currently finishing up cost estimating for construction. Once complete, we will be able to button up our business model and be ready to head out the door with our prospectus in hand for interested potential investors. If everything continues to fall in line as has been our fortune thus far, we hope to open for business in 2023. Until that day we will continue to farm hemp and offer unique educational and community events on site.
Susan and her colleague Michelle Forbes-Morlen (pictured) will be attending the Eco Resort Network in Slovenia in 2020
Photography by Bill Mauzy
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