Upscale homes at Woodstone at York Village, on former Davis property, hit the market

YORK, Maine — What was once vast woodlands will soon be a brand-new private neighborhood, with some units projected to sell for nearly $1 million.

The lots for 16 single-family homes and two pairs of duplexes have been made available to buyers interested in living at Woodstone at York Village, the development coming to the former Mary McIntire Davis property of York Street. There will be 90 more homes on the way, all being built over the next four to five years by JHR Development, LLC.

“Relish the serenity,” the website for Woodstone at York Village says to prospective buyers. It touts a private community tucked in the woods, yet just minutes from shopping, museums, art galleries and other attractions. The homes, still to be built, are being priced between $889,900 and $949,900, according to Realtor Tracy Jackson McCarty of the Aland Realty Group. Eleven have already been reserved for buyers.

“The opportunities are endless,” said McCarty, whose firm is brokering the units for JHR. “You have access to everything right at your fingertips.”

The land where Woodstone is being built holds four centuries of York history, going back to when the settlement was named Georgeana by the English. Abraham Preble, the mayor of Georgeana, was the first from England to live on the property, according to Emerson Baker, a York resident and professor of history at Salem State University. The land has remained largely undeveloped until now.

The Davis family spent the last seven years trying to sell the property, including an attempt to sell it to the town that was rejected by voters in a 2019 referendum. The process also included a state-mandated archeological dig that unearthed several colonial artifacts. JHR ultimately became the buyer in a sale that closed April 15 for $6 million.

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The project was given approval by the Planning Board in 2019 well ahead of the actual sale. Now McCarty, the Realtor, said JHR is moving as fast as it can to roll out the new homes in two phases, made available to buyers based on the timing of utility connections. The units are being built in sequence from York Street to the other end of the development at Raydon Road, she said.

The first move-ins are expected to take place around the coming winter’s holiday season, according to McCarty. She said 43 homes will be built in the first phase, which is hoped to end in early 2024 so work on the second phase of 67 homes can begin that fall.

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The single-family units will come in four versions — “Spruce” and “White Pine,” which are two-story homes, and “Ledgestone” and “Sandstone,” which are single story. The duplex units each come as townhouses known as “The Oaks.” McCarty said the project was approved so each unit is a condominium with lawn maintenance and plowing provided. There will be three to four new private roads built, each of which will receive road and sidewalk maintenance.

There will be 40 units reserved for buyers 55 and above that will be built in phase 2, according to McCarty. The project has been touted as an opportunity for older residents to live closer to downtown while also being in proximity to York Hospital. Workforce housing units will be available in both the first and second phases, and McCarty said lenders working with buyers eligible for those homes have begun reaching out to Aland Realty to reserve a lot.

Ahead of the sale, some locals said  replacing the woodlands with a massive development could detract from York Street’s natural beauty. Planning Board Chair Kathleen Kluger said at the time of the sale that, despite approving the project, she would miss the “rolling hill” of the Davis property and that it would be “very different” to drive down York Street.

Realtors involved in the project, like Ray Pape who represented the Davis family in the sale, have said the new development would not be an eyesore. McCarty said this week the development will remain tucked behind the woodlands to give buyers privacy in their new neighborhood.

“It’s just really nestled,” McCarty said. “When you’re up there, you don’t feel like you’re where you are.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Upscale homes on former Davis land in York ME will cost in $900K range