What is an agrihood?
Agrihoods are planned communities that are built with a working farm or community garden as a central amenity. To learn more information about agrihoods, Urban Land Institute (ULI) has a report on agrihood best practices that can be found here.
How many acres of land will be developed?
Just over seven acres of land will be developed to create the Bensley Agrihood. Approximately two acres will be dedicated to new residential, while 1.62 acres will be for dedicated farmland. The remaining acreage will be for community space for the residents and neighbors of the agrihood.
Who will steward the farm?
The Incubator farm is one component of the larger agricultural support model that will be present within the agrihood and will be stewarded by farmers that do not have access to land through a land support program connected to Happily Natural Day. There will be opportunities through this organization for locals, students and stakeholders to participate in programming and events.
When will the Bensley Agrihood be developed?
The partners hope to break ground by the end of 2023.
How will the Bensley community benefit from what is produced at the farm?
Produce from the farm and satellite farm operations managed and overseen by Happily Natural Day will be offered to agrihood residents and community members through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.
In addition, it is hoped that the Bensley Agrihood will be able to offer a regular farmers market during the warmer months of the year.
How many new homes will be built? What kind of homes will they be?
Maggie Walker Community Land Trust will build ten single-family detached homes. The homes will consist of both 2- and 3-bedroom homes ranging in square footage from 1,200 to 1,400 SF. The home style will be consistent with other homes in the Bensley area.
MWCLT values high quality materials in the construction of their home. Using hardwood floors, HardiePlank, and other durable materials ensures that MWCLT’s investment is passed along to future homebuyers when a homeowner wants to resell their home to another income-qualified buyer.
What are microhomes and what will they be used for?
In addition to the ten single-family homes, there will be four microhomes located adjacent to the farm. These small homes will be rented to emerging farmers that have a residency at the farm.
Less than two acres is a small farm. How can such a small farm support the large community of Bensley?
We understand that the yield of a less than two-acre farm will not be able to support thousands of people. Rather the Bensley Agrihood farm will be an aggregation hub for the many agricultural spaces managed and overseen by Happily Natural Day and its founder/director, Duron Chavis.