Walden Monterey hopes to woo the tech elite. Jekogian expects they will use the homes as weekend getaway spots rather than main residences. The homes offer a chance to detox.
Jekogian said he lucked out. "I own one of the largest pieces of prime real-estate near one of the wealthiest populations in the United States. On top of that, those are probably the same people who are staring at their computer screens and phones the longest," he said.
"Walden Monterey is for people who are starting to realize they need a break."
Three lots at Walden Monterey have been sold, which leaves eight lots up for grabs.
The other half of the 22 lots will come on the market starting in early 2018, after construction crews finish building an infrastructure for utilities. "This is virgin soil," Jekogian said.
Residents can seek out community or solitude as they please. Walden Monterey will include a massive trail system that connects the homes, an outdoor communal farm table, a Zen meditation garden, a treehouse for kids, and several community gathering spots.
Residents will also have access to a pool, fitness center, golf course, and clubhouse at the nearby TehÀma Gold Club in Carmel. That property is owned by actor Clint Eastwood.
The development has two rules: Use renewable energy sources and don't cut down trees. Jekogian envisions the development having a net-zero impact on the environment.
A net-zero energy building is a structure that produces an amount of renewable energy — through solar or wind power, for example — equal to the amount of energy it consumes.
"The list of rules is small, but meaningful. It's about setting a standard of culture," Jekogian said. "I believe when you have hundreds of rules, people are out to find ways around them."
Walden Monterey will also include a "roving room" where prospective buyers can stay for brief visits. The glass box can be moved to different lots — wherever the buyer is looking.
"Think of it as Thoreau's cabin 2.0, allowing guests to fully experience the dialogue between man and nature," reads a press release from Jekogian's Signature Group Investments.
The roving room was designed by architect Alan Williams.
Axelrod Architects designed a 5,000-square-foot home comprised of a "glass box floating above the ground with minimal impact on the land below," according to the architect.
The home concept features 360-degrees views out its floor-to-ceiling windows. The asymmetrical rooflines are intended to be a reflection of the geography, according to the architect.
Source: Walden Monterey
The "Moss house" concept from Larson Shores Architects is a 3,500-square-foot abode that seems to roll down the hillside like the Spanish moss that grows on the project site.
The developer has assembled a team of more than 20 architects, designers, builders, and artists to create the overall design vision for the project.
Residents are welcome to hire the architects who created concept homes for Walden Monterey, or they can hire an outsider. Jekogian said the developer will not be closely supervising build plans, which should bring a variety of architectural styles to the hillside in Monterey.
The lots will sell in the ballpark of $5 million each. But residents don't get a home for the sale price; it includes the land only. Residents will pay additional millions to build their homes.
It will contain 22 private estates, with unspoiled-hillside lots averaging 20 acres. Because of the land's proximity to Silicon Valley, Jekogian expects young tech executives will move in.
He scrapped his golf-course plans and set out to create a gated community that would put contemporary homes in a natural setting. Walden Monterey was born.
There's a growing market for these kinds of communities. Millennials famously value experiences over material things. Real-estate developments focused on clean living and community, known as agrihoods, appeal to the farm-to-table-loving generation.
"When you're sitting under a 200-year-old tree that's going to live another 200 years, you think differently, you think bigger," Jekogian told Business Insider.
At the suggestion of a construction manager, he pitched a tent and decided to stay a few nights in order to get a feel for the land and an understanding of what made it special.
Jekogian planned to turn it into a golf course with villa-style homes across the property.
Baby boomers flocked to golf communities in the 1990s. Living in one of them was a status symbol.
In 2016, Nick Jekogian, a real-estate developer from Manhattan, scooped up 609 acres of wilderness in Monterey, California, a coastal area about an hour's drive from Silicon Valley.
Source: Business Insider India