HomeStyle by the Sea
HomeStyle by the Sea magazine

HomeStyle by the Sea
HomeStyle by the Sea magazine

Monterra®…in the News

HomeStyle by the Sea magazine
April 2006

Monterra® -  where nature meets luxury

By Melanie Chatfield

Lush with native oaks, California Buckeye and Monterey pines. Decorated by wild grasses, lupines and poppies. Inhabited by an abundance of wildlife. The 1,700-acre private community of Monterra® meanders over hills, meadows and canyons, offering stunning views at every turn. Charming country roads wind gently through the natural habitat-eighty-five percent of which will never be developed­demonstrating the deep respect Roger and Basil Mills have for terra firma.

The brothers-known for their generosity to charitable organizations as well as their successful grower/ shipper enterprise, Mills Family Farms-purchased the 2,700 unspoiled acres in the mid 1990s. While 1,700 acres were set aside for Monterra®, the remaining 1,000 were sold to actor/director Clint Eastwood who shares the Mills' commitment to responsible development. Eastwood created a similar limited-growth development called Tehama, and the two are linked by a shared, attended entrance. A spacious fitness center, private restaurant and multi-purpose community room, slated to open this summer, will be an expansive exercise, leisure and dining venue.

Alan Williams is the general contractor and archi tect for Monterra® (as well as for Tehama), designing the neighborhood, carefully placing streets, infrastructure, buildings and home sites.

Stone collected during the building process was saved and incorporated into striking interior and exterior finishes as well as quaint walls that line some of the streets. Care was taken to avoid introducing non-native plant life to the property. A private nursery was established where native trees are grown for later planting in Monterra®.

Monterra® features 168 home sites ­including meadow, canyon and hillside-ranging from two to twenty acres. The goal is that homes, by virtue of their location and architectural style, reflect a sensitivity to and compatibility with their surroundings. Architectural guidelines ensure that the homes built at Monterra® reflect those indicative of the area, incorporating Spanish, European and Western influences.

In keeping with its stewardship of the land, Monterra® uses the services of a private water company-an independent source for treatment and delivery of water. Wells located on the property, replenished by natural springs, fill dual-purpose ponds that provide water for wildlife. The water is then purified for the use of residents.

As of this writing, seventy-one of these incredible home sites have been purchased. Sixteen homes are completed and occupied, eleven are under construction and another ten are in the architectural review process. "Given the response so far, we expect to sell all of the home sites in four to five years," says Roger.

A telling fact is that about sixty percent of Monterra® buyers are current Monterey Peninsula residents. After living in one of the most scenically stunning locales on Earth, it takes a special place indeed to lure those who call the Peninsula home. Monterra® truly is such a special place.

"I wanted a place that reminded me of the way things were when I was a kid,” says Roger Mills' daughter Stephanie Hardy. "There were wide open spaces where

I could ramble around on my horse or my bike, climb trees, play outside, have an adventure. My husband Ken and I wanted the same thing for our kids. There's a great sense of community here." Their 6,OOO-square-foot home features canyon views, but "we can see the ocean from the end of the driveway," she jokes.

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