I am re-releasing this blog today after posting an incomplete version of it yesterday. This is an important blog to me because Cold Mountain is one of my favorite new developments in Western North Carolina and I have great respect for the developer, Wilton Graves. Lesson learned…if you are editing a blog that has all ready been posted once, do not edit it “on-line” because once you save it (say…to help your son with his homework…) it will automatically re-post even if it is still a draft. Here is the correct version:

This summer Marian and I toured Cold Mountain which is located about 12 miles from downtown Waynesville, NC. Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows I am very fond of Waynesville, NC. It is a welcoming community nestled in between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains. Wilton’s vision for Cold Mountain is admirable and challenging. Take a beautiful mountain side, build eco-friendly homes with materials that will last over 100 years. Provide meaningful amenities and do this without disrupting the natural beauty of the area in anyway. So far, Wilton has stuck to his word. Wilton and his family are just completing their own personal home at Cold Mountain and plan to live there full time. Cold Mountain is surrounded by the Pisgah National Forest’s half-million acres of protected land, forever guaranteeing residents of Cold Mountain the freedom and space to roam.

One cannot help but immediately like Wilton and his family. Wilton’s demeanor and disposition will become the soul of Cold Mountain and people who choose to call this home will benefit tenfold. It is interesting to note that Wilton’s grandfather, Wilton Graves Sr., served for several decades in the State Legislature in Hilton Head Island, and was there from day one when Charles Fraser began developing Sea Pines in the 50’s. Fraser is credited with being the father of the amenitized gated communities, and Graves with securing enough public funds to develop Hilton Head’s infrastructure. There are only two significant bridges on Hilton Head…one is named for J. Wilton Graves and the other for Charles E. Fraser. Wilton’s father Robert would go on to build over 2,500 homes and buildings on the Island. The elder Graves also had a knack for hospitality, opening the Sea Crest Motel in 1955, which would serve thousands of visitors for forty years, until it was finally torn down and made into condominiums as Robert’s last large-scale development project. Today, Wilton proudly works alongside his father and is happy to be able to tap into the wisdom that was gained over fifty years of success in a difficult business. Wilton jokes that the family’s secret to success involves a two-step approach. Step one-find out what you can do to help people. Step two-help them.

Cold Mountain is ideally located for people looking for a high quality mountain community close to the welcoming town of Waynesville and within a half-hour drive to Asheville, NC. Cold Mountain has been designed to provide amenities that will not unduly burden property owners including equestrian facilities, trout fishing in the Pigeon River located immediately at the entrance of the property, an Outfitters Post, where you can pick-up your mail, a few essentials or a basket of seasonal produce grown in the Community Organic Garden and Orchard. Also available will be a fitness center, mountaintop chapel perched on top of the mountain at over 3,800 feet and access to the great outdoors. The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is less than an hour to the north and you can be driving the Blue Ridge Parkway in 20 minutes. Directly across from Cold Mountain is a nice public golf course, Springdale Golf Club.

Only 117 home sites are planned for this community, so it really should have a tight knit feel to it. Wilton and his family sure are setting the stage for this to happen. They are fine people and it is apparent how committed they are to carrying out their vision of Cold Mountain. We rarely come across a developer such as Wilton Graves who possesses such conviction on his vision for what Cold Mountain will be today and 50 years from now. Cold Mountain will be a community rich in character, surrounded by countless natural amenities…the National Forests, hiking trails, fishing streams while still having reasonable access to a quaint town, a golf course and reasonable access to the great city of Asheville, North Carolina.

Give us a call and let us arrange for you to meet Wilton and his family. The Graves’ Ranch, East Fork, is across the river from Cold Mountain and they have two darling cabins for guests. Having spent a couple of nights there ourselves, we can tell you that they know how to introduce people to the area and make them feel a part of the family. Spend the night on site and see if Cold Mountain is the right place for you. Email me at terry@marianschaffer.com. You can also call Wilton directly at 828-400-4858 or send him an email at wilton@coldmountainlife.com. Please let Wilton know you learned about Cold Mountain from the Schaffer Realty Group blog. Click on this link for the Cold Mountain’s Website.

For another perspective of Cold Mountain from an unbiased evaluator, click on this link:  Golf Coummunity Reviews. Larry Gavrich provides a rich and thorough analysis of Cold Mountain and the Springdale Golf Course.