HAYMARKET, VA, July 29, 2014 – The Green Building Committee of Prince William County, Virginia has awarded the 2014 Green Community Award in the Project Category to Villages of Piedmont at Leopold’s Preserve. This is the highest honor for environmental service in Prince William County and recognizes exemplary projects that help to protect and preserve the natural areas and resources of the community. Scott C. Plein, founding principal of Equinox Investments, LLC (the developer) accepted the award on behalf of the project at a special celebration held on the lawn of Rippon Lodge in Woodbridge, Virginia.
“We applaud your vision and determination to set aside 386 acres of the 493 acre development as permanent natural open space, as well as to restore an acre of previously disturbed Resource Protection Areas. You made the active choice to preserve these critical areas, which provide habitat for the wildlife and a place of beauty for the community, “stated Deb Oliver, Facilitator of the Prince William County Green Guiding Committee.”
A unique community, envisioned to be a model for preservation-oriented land planning, Villages of Piedmont at Leopold’s Preserve offers an impressive open space commitment of more than 380 acres and a unique and thoughtful solution to progressive land use management and finding the balance between human population growth and the preservation of natural habitats.
For more information, visit www.vopii.com, find us on Facebook, or call (703) 327-0993 ext. 3.
About Equinox Investments, LLC – Founded in 1999 by Scott C. Plein and William M. Smith, Equinox is a Northern Virginia-based real estate investment, development, and management company whose primary interest is in entitling well conceived communities. Equinox prides itself in understanding and listening to the needs of its community neighbors, including their sensitivity to traffic patterns, needed road improvements, environmental features, educational infrastructure, and recreational needs. Since their inception, Equinox has entitled over 1,900 residential units and created opportunities for over 500,000 square feet of office space and 200,000 square feet of retail space. Their entitlement success has been made possible by working closely with the communities that exist in and around their projects. For more information, visit www.equinoxinvestmentsllc.com.
About Villages of Piedmont at Leopold’s Preserve — Located in northwest Prince William County, the Villages of Piedmont at Leopold’s Preserve is uniquely situated at the midsection of The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area and Scenic Byway, a corridor long valued by conservationists and historians. Comprised of approximately 493 acres, the project is adjacent to the existing Villages of Piedmont residential community which consists of a mixture of 413 single family homes and townhomes. Villages of Piedmont at Leopold’s Preserve will complete the balance of this community with the addition of 393 new homes (132 single family and 261 townhomes) in a unique cluster design with strict architectural guidelines to ensure a quality community reflecting styles and features that are in keeping with the existing homes. One of the most compelling aspects of the project is the impressive open space commitment—the permanent conservation of more than 380 acres known as “Leopold’s Preserve”—aptly named for the famous conservationist, Aldo Leopold, that will be preserved through a conservation easement as natural open space and open to the public for passive recreation. Within the open space there will be over 5 miles of natural surface walking trails, observation areas, wildflower meadows, and numerous interpretive signs (over half of which have been authored by Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment, Conservation Management Institute) that will showcase the environmental and historic features of the property and the surrounding area. The builders for this new community are Stanley Martin Homes, Winchester Homes, and Richmond American Homes. For more information, visit www.vopii.com.
