Long on Natural Living

The Long Branch Residential Preserve is a sensitively designed development emphasizing land preservation and natural lifestyle.

Mountain laurel and holly grow along the entrance to a rare type of retreat on Lookout Mountain above the town of Flintstone, Georgia, just southwest of Chattanooga. The Long Branch Residential Preserve is a 400-acre tract of pristine woodland interspersed with green meadows.

Three hundred acres of the property have been placed in a permanent conservation easement held by the Lookout Mountain Land Trust, protected from development for future generations to enjoy. It shares a contiguous boundary with the Lula Lake Land Trust, providing an unbroken horizon for the twenty homeowners who will live or go on retreat there.

Chris Moore is the primary developer of the Long Branch Residential Preserve. Moore is a medical doctor and an outdoor enthusiast who was in a large part responsible for Chattanooga’s Outdoor Initiative. He started the first outdoor medicine seminars ever held in Chattanooga, over ten years ago. The seminars have attracted hundreds of medical professionals each year to Chattanooga from the surrounding area and across the nation. Moore has served on numerous local and national boards, including the Tennessee River Gorge Trust and the Nature Conservancy and was appointed last year by Governor Bredesen to serve on the board of the Tennessee Conservation Commission. This is his first residential project and it is one dear to his heart and conservation philosophy.

“There is a huge role for private conservation in our area and this shows how an individual can set aside land to be protected for the future and still cover his financial investment,” says Moore. It’s a model Moore hopes will be replicated, because the impact of creating it actually improves the neighboring communities rather than overburdening the infrastructure around it.

A one-lane pea gravel drive brings visitors into the development. The land rises gently on either side of the lane, crisscrossed by the twisting Long Branch. From the road, the low crest of the mountain is visible across the high valley like the lip of a shallow bowl as it winds around two small lakes in the preserve. For these homebuyers it’s not about bluff views or golf courses. Here there is a sense of protection, simplicity and retreat. The 20 homesites range in size from two to six acres, with a price spread of between $250,000 and $400,000.

What makes Long Branch different is the natural approach its designers and the developers have taken in creating and maintaining common areas in the community. There is a village green, a rustic bridge, an old-fashioned swimming hole with rope swings and walking paths. The influence of Moore’s early years as a summer camp director and outdoor guide have affected the design of the playful creekside areas. The opportunities for play in a safe, but entirely natural setting, are reminiscent of a more carefree time. Moore’s team of planners and builders has created beautiful, functional features that suit the community. Stein Construction built the roadbed and earthen dam for the lake and Stan Gravett erected the first structure on it-a small New England-style boathouse.

The common areas so strongly impress their character on the homesites that Moore, the architects and builders have taken great care to locate and specify certain natural and long-lasting materials be used for the structures. An architectural committee oversees the approval of plans for primary homes or second homes that may vary widely in size. Even though there are no size restrictions, these specific building materials are to be used throughout the community, giving it a cohesive charm. Poplar bark siding milled in North Carolina may be seen in the first homes going up. Asphalt shingles that mimic cedar shakes have been used on the model home and similar natural-appearing materials are encouraged for rooftops.

One of the most notable features of the Long Branch Residential Preserve is the equestrian facility at the heart of the property. Showing a commitment that few area developers of luxury properties have ventured into, the Long Branch Preserve is both equipped and staffed. Hunter-jumper instructor, Lane Brown Taylor, is the director of the Long Branch Barns equestrian facility. The riding ring is 60 x 100 feet long and about 100 yards from the stables. The stables are built with the reclaimed siding from barns that were being torn down around the property, most in such disrepair they could not be rehabilitated. Trimmed in traditional barn red, the weathered gray siding lends an authentic air of history to the structure. The six-stall barn has an apartment where the barn loft might have been. The Taylors and their young daughter will live here until their home is built nearby.  An outbuilding stores farm equipment, hay and wood shavings. The wash racks are situated on the back side of the barn and the fences are made of tensile material. Pasture board begins at $300 per month for owners’ mounts and run-in sheds are located in each pasture.

Chattanooga architect, Heidi Hefferlin, designed the first home in Long Branch. It is characterized by an open plan that includes a large screened porch, plus outdoor and indoor stack-stone fireplaces. Twig spindles support the handrails up to the second floor where views of the lake take advantage of one the nicest building sites available. There is a sleeping porch and a tucked-away study with all the computer hookups needed to get things done away from the office. Everything about the new construction is fitted to the lot and allows for a natural landscape-from decking around existing trees to strategic plantings of local laurel found onsite. Hefferlin and her husband and business partner Craig Kronenberg own H+K Architects, a 10-year-old firm that employs a staff of nine. H+K Architects has completed signature properties at Thunder Farms, designed several area churches, hotels, commercial office buildings and, more recently, has designed condominium developments in Chattanooga’s North Shore and Southside districts.

Adele Glascock did the interior design of the rustic home above the lake on Long Branch Road. Its natural motif includes plank siding on walls—no drywall—wood-paneled ceilings, rustic light fixtures, slate tiles and pine flooring. Builder Terry Johnson is known for his exceptional craftsmanship and everything truly fits seamlessly in the first woodsy retreat.

Chris Moore is happy about the way things are shaping up at the Long Branch Residential Preserve, from the imaginatively situated building sites to the whimsical trails among boulders and trees, connecting the common spaces. With miles of horse and hiking trails on the ridges nearby, he’s pretty sure he will captivate additional buyers. Five have already made commitments. His Odyssey Land Company web site quotes Henry David Thoreau who once said, A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to leave alone. Moore notes that some people are immediately drawn to the concept of being surrounded by wilderness. “It’s probably not for everybody, but we think more and more people will be attracted to this [natural] type of property.”