An exclusive community on the grounds of the famed Greenbrier Resort will feature 500 high-end homes and an endless array of amenities.
By Jack Houvouras
HQ 47 | SPRING 2003
How do you improve upon a destination that many visitors have called “heaven on earth” in a state known as Almost Heaven? It would seem nearly impossible to refine the luster of the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., but that’s exactly what is taking place in the majestic hills that surround the 225 year old resort. You see, it is in those hills that the Greenbrier Sporting Club was born.
Utilizing some 6,500 acres of pristine property that surround the hotel grounds, executives at the Greenbrier, in association with famed developers Dolan, Pollak & Schram, are creating something truly unique for the discriminating outdoor enthusiast. Founded in 1998, the Greenbrier Sporting Club will be a private equity, members-only community featuring 500 high-end home sites and an endless array of amenities.
As if staying at the Greenbrier wasn’t enough, now you can actually live there. Not only will you be able to take advantage of all the comforts of this world class resort, but for those who want even more exclusivity, the Greenbrier Sporting Club will have it’s own pursuits including hiking, biking, riding, fly-fishing, falconry and, of course, golf. Members will not only have access to the hotel’s three world-renowned golf courses, but they will have their very own 18-hole layout designed by acclaimed architect Tom Fazio.
The list of perks goes on and on. Members of the sporting club will not only have full access to what Conde Nast Traveler magazine recently called the “#1 Spa Resort in North America,” but they will have an array of private pleasures to choose from as well. They will have their own spa, trails, streams, equestrian center, tennis and squash courts. Members will also have their own fitness center, 5,000 acre shooting preserve, nature programs, Land Rover Driving School and Members’ Lodge. Finally, a wide range of children’s programs will be offered demonstrating the club’s strong commitment to family. The venture is intended to appeal to highly successful families in mid-career looking for a second home or vacation destination. Membership into the private club is limited to those who buy lots and includes a one-time fee of $85,000.“In over 30 years I’ve been involved with the design of many outstanding golf courses,” says Fazio. “I really believe that the new private course at the Greenbrier Sporting Club will be a very special golf course. The setting couldn’t be more beautiful, surrounded by lush meadows and running streams. The Greenbrier is noted for its world class golf courses… and the new one we’re designing will be no exception.”
As an example of what some of the homes within the property might look like, the Greenbrier teamed up with the editors of Town & Country magazine, renowned architect Donald Rattner and acclaimed interior designer Victoria Hagan to build a showcase home located directly behind the Robert E. Lee cottage. The result is a stunning $4.5 million structure custom-tailored to its surroundings.
But don’t let that price tag scare you. Everything in the Town & Country showcase home, which is open to the public, is top of the line. From the entry hall paved in orcher limestone from Waterworks to the washer and dryer set by ASKO to the dinnerware by Calvin Klein, this fully-furnished home was designed and decorated using only the very best products available. The list of impressive names that helped shape the home include Urban Archaeology, a source of lighting, tile and fixtures; carpet-makers A.M. Collections and Elizabeth Eakins; lighting by Robert Altman; Yew House Tree Antiques; Jonas Upholstery; Wolf Appliance; Sub-Zero; F. Schumacher & Co.; Ralph Lauren Home; Marvin Windows and Doors and more.
The editor’s at Town & Country, along with their hand picked architect and interior designer, describe the 18 month endeavor as a modern tree house.
“Our joint concept started to take shape when we visited the site for the first time,” says Hagan, one of the most sought-after designers in the country.
“A mountain home in the forest. Bringing the outside in, seeing the trees, making it feel magical.”
Soon after beginning her career in 1985, The New York Times described Hagan’s work as “the most cerebral, the one bound to be influential,” and she continues to be a major force in the design industry. Her work is continually featured in such publications as Architectural Digest, New York Magazine, Vogue, W, Town & Country, Harper’s Bazaar and House Beautiful. Vogue exclaimed that she defies the old school implications of the term “lady decorator.” In addition, she has been awarded many of the country’s top design honors, including Architectural Digest’s “Top 100,” New York Magazine’s “Hottest Interior Designers” and House Beautiful’s “Next Wave of Hall-of-Famers.”
The home site encompasses nearly three-quarters of an acre and offers spectacular views of Greenbrier Mountain as well as the back of the hotel itself. Architect Donald Rattner, a former heavy hitter with a prestigious firm in Manhattan and co-founder of the Institute for the Study of Classical Architecture, received a Merit Award from Residential Architect for homes at The Ford Plantation, a sporting community for which he serves as Town Architect. The winner in Progressive Architecture magazine’s 1993 Young Architects competition, his professional and academic work has been featured on “CNN,” and in the New York Times, Town & Country, Oculus and other venues. He described the biggest challenge of the project as finding a way to connect the home to the resort while maintaining a clear distinction.
“As you get further from the hotel, there should be a significant shift from a classical campus environment to a natural one in the woods, more reflective of that setting,” he explained. “We designed a house that is in nature, with earthbound materials and colors – not above nature, as the gleaming white hotel appears to be.”
Rattner explored numerous options with regard to the style of the home, studying the lines of hillside homes in the Middle Atlantic states as well as lodge-style structures, mountain homes and even high elevation houses in the Far West. He finally chose an Adirondack-style design that combines wood and stone and features a steep, shingled roof that overhangs an array of large porches.
Building on a theme of “A House For All Seasons,” the structure utilizes the color and feel of nature’s cycle as you move from room to room. A cool winter blue guest bedroom is contrasted by the vibrant greens of spring in the master bedroom.
“I wanted the master bedroom to capture the unexpected joy of seeing early spring green and the flowers in bloom,” notes Hagan. “They’re all sharp colors and quite different, but in the white light they seem to resolve themselves somehow.”
The stunning dining area features the bold hues of fall including vibrant red walls that beckon visitors to pull up a chair and sit at the table. Nearly every room in the home features a natural theme that revolves around the four seasons.
“I wanted to capture the spirit I felt at the Greenbrier – warm, friendly, with an appreciation of nature,” Hagan explained. “I couldn’t compete with the style of the hotel itself, so bright and full of pattern, but I did want to use color and pattern in a way that would work with the natural setting of the house. I wanted a stronger and more sophisticated version of a country interior, playing a little off Arts and Crafts style and a European feeling.”
Home sites at the club start at $250,000 and are scattered among seven distinct neighborhoods. The sporting club master plan calls for a wide range of architectural approaches including estate homes, golfside and mountainside homes and creekside cottages. Members may also want to consider building a rustic mountain residence with vistas of the Greenbrier landscape laid out before them. With the assistance of the Club’s Architectural Review Board, members will be able to design and build homes that are architecturally compatible with the Greenbrier’s historic legacy.
“The Town & Country Design Showhouse is a great way to promote The Greenbrier Sporting Club lifestyle concept to a national audience,” says Steve Schram, chairman of Dolan, Pollak & Schram, developers of the project. “Members of the club will not only have the opportunity to build a beautiful home within close proximity to numerous outdoor pursuits and world-class amenities, but also to accumulate new and memorable experiences in a setting rich with history.”
Once upon a time, you could only be a guest at the Greenbrier. But with the birth of the Greenbrier Sporting Club, families now have the option to own a singular home at America’s preeminent country estate. Things just keep getting better in White Sulphur Springs … West Virginia’s very own slice of heaven.
