Monterra® - The Pinnacle of the Monterey Peninsula

Monterra®…in the News

Estates West Magazine

Twice as Nice

By Amanda Fier

AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TWO COMMUNITIES OFFERS LUXURY HOMEBUYERS

THE BEST OF CALIFORNIA LIVING-WITH A NATURE-REVERING SETUP TO BOOT.

IF YOU AREN'T ALREADY in love with Carmel or the Monterey Peninsula, prepare to give your heart to Tehama and Monterra®. This duet of developments perches above and beyond the bay, just out of reach of the clingy fog that often hugs the seashore like static to a sweater. The land amidst the two luxury communities, which adds up to about 4,000 acres, is so beautiful that even on the occasion of a rare drizzle, you're smitten with everything you see-meadows, mountains and canyons; abundant wildlife; native grasses and mature California oaks with Medusa-style branches; ISO types of wildflowers; and a beckoning coastline that's just a bike ride away.

It's possible to say that Tehama and Monterra® sort of got started about 40 years ago, but back then, these communities were nothing but a twinkle in Clint Eastwood's eye. In his leisure, Eastwood came upon Carmel Valley's hillsides, fell for their splendor, purchased a sizeable acreage and named the land Tehama, a Native American word meaning "abundance of nature:' Today, Tehama has grown into a housing development that will host as many as 90 homes, but 85 percent of the now 2,000-acre land will remain an open preserve forever.

Linked to Tehama by functional infrastructure, a common golf course and shared clubhouse and fitness facilities, Monterra® didn't have the same star-studded, storybook beginning-though its evolution has been wonderfully so. Originally owned by Australians, the Monterra® land was purchased by the Mills family, whose other notable ventures include farming. During negotiations, the family visited with the Carmel Development Company, which works with Eastwood on Tehama, and found they shared similar values and an appreciation for the land. The Mills bought out the Australians in the mid-1990's, and Eastwood in turn purchased one-third of their parcel to build what is now Tehama and Monterra's® shared Jay Moorish-designed golf course. (An aside: The gorgeous course elicits longing glances from those who don't even like golf.) Today, Monterra® stretches across about 1,700 acres and will eventually host as many as 168 residences.

Each of these low-density communities enjoys mountain, coast and canyon views-as well as a Mediterranean microclimate that is unique to this section of terrain. The land itself is, by all accounts, incredibly distinctive thanks to the varied topography, wildlife and longstanding vegetation like native grasses and centuries-old oaks. "In many ways, you can see a large amount of time having played out in instant views;' says architect Michael Waxer, AIA, vice president of Carmel Development Company who has been with the project for two decades. “You see all these moments of time by just looking around.”

Anyone who has visited run-of-the-mill developments knows that natural splendor is never a given, but it's ubiquitous in Tehama and Monterra® thanks to deliberate planning that made-and continues to make-Mother Nature a top priority. "We carefully studied the land here at Tehama and came up with a unique concept of placing the homes in the right places," Waxer says. "We tried to fit everything to the land. That had a cost to it, but the cost is part of the value system and that was what was needed to make this right." Monterra® was developed in the same way as Tehama, which explains the thoughtful positioning of the roads, homes and trails that tender a seamless transition between the two communities.

Because both developments share so much in common, it's tough to see how people could choose between them-unless, of course, they have a hometown favorite: Monterra® has a Monterey address, while Tehama's is Carmel. But there are nuances that nudge people toward a decision between the two. "At Monterra®, you can see your neighbors a little bit more:' says Marci Bracco, marketing manager of Mills Family Farms and Monterra®. "Each home in Tehama is secluded:' Consequently, buyers seeking privacy and open space lean toward Tehama, while those looking for more community and neighborly interaction tend to make Monterra® their home.

Monterra's® slightly closer quarters was the deciding factor for Don Radcliff. A coastal California native, Radcliff was aware of Carmel and Monterey's reputations for tinier cottages, half-empty neighborhoods and part-time residents. Because of their five children, he and his wife sought a community that offered roomy homes and lots, but that fostered more interaction among homeowners, and Monterra® fit the bill. Radcliff bought a lot a couple of years ago and recently purchased a spec home where his family will live during construction. "On the Monterra® side, [neighbors] are not in your backyard, but they're not far away.” he says. "... It's like living in a park. It's just a perfect place to live."

Both parklike developments appeal to some, one being James Ponte, a real estate broker based in Scottsdale, who purchased two homesites, one in each community. Ponte was referred to the developments by a friend in Laguna Beach and was hooked by the beauty and the low density planning. Though the desert native's two homesites face what is an Arizona anomaly (water), Ponte says

he loves how the views in the opposite direction feature the Santa Lucia Mountains and a rolling, velvet green landscape. "I haven't seen anything else like it:' he says.

While the pastoral environments couple with amazing amenities to create enviable addresses, there's something more important going on than merely luxury living opportunities. These communities don't just bestow an unmatched quality of life to the residents, they offer an incredible setting where the environment itself the landscape, wildlife and resources-will thrive for years to come. Waxer likes to call this environment "a sustainable destination.”

But what does that mean? It means that Tehama and Monterra® will ultimately give more back to the environment than they take away. The goal is to eliminate the concept of waste, producing a positive-rather than negative or neutral-impact on the setting.

Granted, the idea of general development having positive effects seems counterintuitive, but Waxer insists it doesn't have to be-and these two communities are proving it. For example, Tehama and Monterra® are on their way to becoming oxygen exporters given the projected ratio of trees (native trees, mind you) to people and wildlife. There's also a nursery, which was started 10 years ago to grow oak, Monterey pine and California buckeye trees for homesites. Plus, the Carmel stone excavated on homesites is used for walls throughout the development and offered as on option for interior/ exterior finishes. The Carmel stone and nursery trees alike are offered only to residents at better-than-market prices to gently encourage them to buy and use what's appropriate to the land.

Furthermore, the communities generate solar energy thanks to photo voltaics blanketing the clubhouse roof. Solar panels are suggested (though not pushed); plans for wind turbines are in the works; and all water treatment already takes place on-site. There's more than enough water to go around (a significant boon considering the

water-crisis-prone nature of the Monterey Peninsula), and the tertiary water is used to feed the golf course. This efficiency is something that residents-both here and in nearby communities-can feel good about.

Waxer, however, attributes the feel-good nature of Tehama and Monterra® to the people who own them, saying" it all starts with the client:' In this case, Eastwood and the Mills family want what's best for the community and the environment, and they make decisions accordingly. "If it's good for the community and you're in the community-then by definition it's going to be good for you," Waxer says. "Basil and Roger [Mills] and Clint always start with what's best for the community. That's a wonderful and appropriate model for others to emulate." And like their owners, of course, the communities themselves are wonderful and appropriate-for the residents and to the land. "

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