A new 107-acre, mixed-use real estate development, Longcliff Village, is planned for southwestern Transylvania County on US Highway 64 near Lake Toxaway. According to David C. Parks, Managing Partner of Toxaway Park, LLC, construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2023.

Longcliff Village is being developed by Toxaway Park, LLC, a company owned by Parks, President & CEO of Triad Building Company, a 22-year custom home builder on the Cashiers- Highlands Plateau, and William R. (Bill) Hackney, retired Managing Partner of Atlanta Capital Management Company, an institutional investment management company. Both Parks and Hackney have residences in Lake Toxaway.

“This is a unique piece of mountain property,” said Parks. “The terrain is relatively flat. The property fronts on US 64 but is surrounded on three sides by Gorges State Park and overlooks the Blue Ridge Escarpment. What’s more, it has a spectacular waterfall along Bear Wallow Creek, which separates the property from the state park.”

“The design of the village is based upon a local area study commissioned by the Historic Toxaway Foundation in 2018,” Parks explained. “Residents of the Toxaway and Sapphire communities expressed interest in a town center and village green where the wider community could congregate. They also wanted a broader range of year-round retail stores, services, and entertainment than currently exists in the southwestern part of the county.”

Longcliff Village is a collaboration between Toxaway Park, LLC, and other key individuals and companies with extensive expertise in various areas of the real estate industry. The development features four major components.

Town Center

At the heart of Longcliff Village, the town center is located at the entrance off Rosman Highway (US 64) and incorporates a commercial district, village green, and amphitheater. It will feature a general store, grocery, deli, outdoor outfitters, restaurant, tap room, art and crafts, and other retail and office space. Ryan Stahl, President of Equinox Development Properties, will oversee the development of the town center. Stahl also owns a home in Lake Toxaway.

Hospitality

Longcliff Village will include two exceptional hotels with associated restaurants. A 24-room boutique lodge and spa will sit along the Blue Ridge Escarpment providing spectacular views of the Carolinas piedmont as well as Georges State Park. Overlooking the village green and adjacent to the town center is the Village Inn, providing 40 guest rooms. Indigo Road Hospitality Group (IRHG) of Charleston, SC, founded by award-winning chef and restaurateur Steve Palmer and led by President Larry Speltz, will have primary responsibility for the hospitality development along with Kirk Kinsell, a Lake Toxaway resident with over 40 years’ experience in the hotel industry. Kinsell previously served as President & CEO of Loews Hotel and President of InterContintental Hotels Group. Currently, IRHG operates or is developing multiple food and beverage-driven boutique hotels, including the Skyline Lodge and Oaks Steakhouse, Highlands, NC, and the Flatiron Hotel in Asheville, NC.

Residential

Longcliff Village will provide a mix of up to 160 single-family, condominium, and townhome residences for sale. Homes will respect the area’s mountain character and will be offered in a range of sizes, styles, and price points. All are designed for both seasonal and year-round use by permanent residents or short-term guests.

Nature Park

Perhaps the most distinctive and unique feature of Longcliff Village is the 44-acre conservation easement which runs through the middle of the property. Almost three miles of secure and well- maintained walking trails will meander through native hardwood forest and a lovely park. All structures on the property are within a five-minute walk of one of these trails. Working with Historic Toxaway Foundation leaders Jim Ditzel and Nory LeBrun, Toxaway Park, LLC aims to turn the private conservation easement into a public-access nature park developed for the educational and recreational benefit of the broader local community.

The design and plan for Longcliff Village was created by Matt Sprouse, a landscape architect and planner who is a principal of Sitework Studios in Asheville, NC. Chuck Tessier, president of Tessier Real Estate Consulting in Asheville, NC, served as planner, design and real estate adviser to Toxaway Park, LLC. Sprouse and Tessier also authored the 2018 Historic Toxaway Planning Study.

Architects for Longcliff Village are Jeff Dalton, founder and president of Rowhouse Architects, Asheville, NC, and John Kirk, partner with Cooper Robertson, New York City. Kirk has a national reputation for leading planning efforts for town centers, campuses, and new communities.