Balsam Mountain Preserve Named Best Equestrian Community of the YearAlthough Balsam Mountain Preserve is best known for its scenic mountain golf course, property owner and celebrity Andie MacDowell describes Balsam’s Equestrian Center best saying “ You won’t find flat trails in the mountains like you’ll find at Balsam. The trails are phenomenal”. Their Equestrian Center is a full service facility offering boarding, riding lessons, practice arena and club horses for trail rides. There are 30 miles of horseback riding trails inside the gates of Balsam Mountain Preserve. The trail system connects further into the 531,286 acre Nantahala National Forest. The Equestrian Center is a great hang out seated in the rocking chairs overlooking layered mountain views of Blue Ridge Mountains. Balsam Mountain Preserve built Dark Ridge Creek as a community amenity, a family camp catering to horseback or hiking overnight adventures. The family camp has a horse paddock, bunkhouses and restroom facilities. Some people prefer to call it “glamping”. Buyers at Balsam Mountain Preserve have the opportunity to purchase larger land parcels to build their own equestrian barns next to their homes. The country western theme is a thread which runs through the entire community. Ask us about being our guest in one of The Boarding House cabins to see the Best Equestrian Community of the Year - our 2012 Bliss Award Winner. Click here to check out the rest of the 2012 Bliss Award Winners. |
Balsam Mountain Preserve Produces Commercial for Local Television! |
Resurrecting Balsam Mountain Preserve is one part business, two parts passionNew owners of the high-end Balsam Mountain Preserve development aren’t daunted by the choppy waters of Western North Carolina’s real estate landscape. Despite the still tepid demand for pricey second homes in the mountains, they say they have charted a course that will bring the beleaguered development out on the other side of the storm still raging across the rest of the region. The 4,400-acre mega-development — one of the region’s few mountainside golf developments that can rightfully carry that tag line — has its share of battle scars. It’s been through foreclosure, repossessed by investors, hawked to the lowest bidder, babysat by an out-of-state caretaker, then put up for sale. Now, a rescue of Balsam Mountain Preserve has come full circle. Two wealthy homeowners in the development teamed up to buy the development for $6 million — a fraction of what it was once worth. If there’s ever a development where millionaire homeowners could emerge from the ranks to become the owners, it’s Balsam Mountain Preserve. Harry Avant of Louisiana and David Carlile of Texas knew each other previously from the oil and gas industry, even before buying their respective property in Balsam Mountain Preserve several years ago. Click Here to read the full story featured in the Smoky Mountain News. |
Developer of Community West of Asheville Hopes for Good TimingBALSAM — Nevermind the cliche about real estate and location — the new owners of Balsam Mountain Preserve are banking on having the right timing. Texas-based The Challenge Golf Group bought the luxury development between Sylva and Waynesville in November for $6 million, partly on the hope that the market for high-end homes has turned enough to make the move profitable. Click Here to read more about this story featured in the Asheville Citizen Times. |
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Balsam Mountain Preserve Under New Ownership Sylva, N.C. – A private golf course and club community development company has purchased Balsam Mountain Preserve, a 4,400 acre amenity community located between Sylva and Waynesville in the mountains of western North Carolina. The Challenge Golf Group, based in Marshall, Texas, formally completed the purchase of the development on November 21st. An experienced developer and operator of golf courses, real estate and lifestyle communities, The Challenge Golf Group has over thirty years of extensive experience in both commercial and residential real estate development. Their current portfolio of properties includes ten golf and amenity communities located in Texas, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Over the past ten years, Balsam Mountain Preserve has firmly established itself as one of western North Carolina's premier club communities. An authentic mountain retreat, Balsam offers its residents an astounding array of completed amenities, including an award-winning Arnold Palmer Signature golf course, a family sports camp with swim, tennis, and fitness facilities, a beautiful restaurant and lodge, and over 30 miles of private hiking, biking, and equestrian trails. Located adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountain Expressway, Balsam enjoys an enviable location just 40 minutes from downtown Asheville. Created with a commitment to preserve its natural surroundings, 3,400 acres, or nearly 75% of the community, will be placed in a permanent conservation easement, ensuring it will never be developed and will always remain for future generations in its present park-like state. Over 230 properties have been purchased in the community and nearly 70 homes have been completed. The Challenge Golf Group’s leadership team expressed their excitement over the purchase of the community and their commitment to build and enhance Balsam Mountain Preserve’s reputation as one of the finest private mountain clubs and communities in all of North Carolina. "As we work to usher Balsam into a prosperous and successful future, maintaining the private and exclusive nature of the golf course and club is paramount to those plans," stated David Carlile, President of The Challenge Golf Group. "The second home and retirement market has experienced some challenging times over the past several years, but the minimal debt structure and financial strength of our company will ensure we have the tools to bring long-term and lasting stability to this great club and community." To consummate the purchase of Balsam Mountain Preserve, The Challenge Golf Group partnered with Shreveport, Louisiana businessman Harry Avant to form The Balsam Mountain Group, which will serve as the operating entity for the club and community. Of particular note is that both Mr. Carlile and Mr. Avant have been homeowners at Balsam Mountain Preserve since 2008, long before they cultivated an interest in purchasing the development. According to Mr. Avant, "Our familiarity with the community and its operations give us a unique perspective as new owners of the development. No other amenity community in this area has our combination of financial resources and development experience along with the personal involvement of the ownership team. It’s a formula that potential buyers can feel very good about". For related articles see below. The Sylva Herald - Texas Based Company Purchases Balsam Mountain Preserve |
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Trust Marks 10 Years of Conservation, Education It’s been more than a decade since plans were announced for an upscale gated community to be located on Champion Paper’s 4,400-acre tract east of Sylva. That development, Balsam Mountain Preserve, has one thing that separates it from similar second-home enclaves in the region: Balsam Mountain Trust. Dedicated to conservation and education, BMT is a non-profit located within Balsam Mountain Preserve. It was created by the original owners to manage some 3,000 acres of the property that was placed in a permanent conservation easement, which means that land can never be developed. Community outreach such as public programs and joint ecological initiatives with local schools are mandated by the Trust’s status as a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Click here to read more> |
Balsam Fire Department Gets High RatingMost BMP homeowners expected to benefit with reduction in insurance costs. N.C. Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Wayne Goodwin announced on September 16th that the Balsam-Willets-Ochre Hill Fire Department rating was upgraded from a 9 to a 6 on their recent fire inspection. Ratings range from 1 to 10 and the lower the better, Balsam’s improved rating indicating the department has made a concerted effort to improve and maintain its equipment and training over the past year and is better equipped to deal with fires and emergencies.
According to Chief Johnny Nicholson, this rating could save people on this district up to 30 percent on their homeowner’s insurance. The rating applies to people living within a 5-mile driving radius of the fire station and means those people may be eligible for 18 to 30 percent savings on their homeowner’s insurance, effective in January. This should have an effect on the rates of 80-90% of the homeowners and club facilities within Balsam Mountain Preserve, with the balance remaining unchanged. We are proud to have Johnny as part of the BMP family and congratulate him and the rest of the Balsam-Willets-Ochre Hill Fire Department for their hard work and diligence. They are the only volunteer fire department in the area that maintains such a low rating. Letters from the fire department will be sent out to all property owners in the Balsam fire district in the weeks to come encouraging them to contact their insurance providers and make them aware of the new rating. |
Happy 10th Anniversary to the Balsam Mountain Trust .jpg "Nature Center") On September 3rd, 2011 from 5:00-8:00pm at the Balsam Mountain Preserve Pavilion, we will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Balsam Mountain Trust with a barbeque, silent auction, live animals and live music.
The mission of the Balsam Mountain Trust is the stewardship of the natural and cultural resources on Balsam Mountain Preserve and the Blue Ridge Mountain region, achieved through effective land management practices, scientific research and environmental education. The Trust is a big part of Balsam Mountain Preserve and one of the many things that makes our community unique. This fund-raiser will provide support for the wide-range of Trust programming. Tickets are $50/adult and $10/children (15 and under). Please visit www.bmtrust.org or contact Michael Skinner at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
for additional information. |
Balsam Mountain Preserve is Now on YouTube! Balsam Mountain Preserve has a compelling story to tell and what better way to deliver our message than through the world's largest online video community. We have our first owner testimonial posted on our new YouTube channel and hope to be adding several more in the coming weeks. Subscribe today! |
Balsam Home Featured in Timber Home Living Architect Shawn Leatherwood of the Architectural Studio in Waynesville, North Carolina designed this timber vacation home which embodies the power of family. This 6,000 square foot house is comfortable, yet not ostentatious, accommodating as many as two dozen people from four generations. Click Here to Read The Article >> |
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