The communities surrounding the Boar’s Head Inn—Ednam, Ednam Village and Ednam Forest—are all separate subdivisions, and in some ways quite different, but a passer-by can be forgiven for confusing them. In addition to sharing the Ednam name (which comes from the name of the mansion built in 1901 by a New York bachelor named Edwin Meyer who made a killing in the import business), the communities are rather expensive neighborhoods with private roads and architectural review boards, along with pleasant (and protected) views of the Birdwood Golf Course and the mountains to the south.
 Ednam Forest is the most individualistic of the three Ednam neighborhoods. |
Even residents sometimes get them confused. “I’ll occasionally get a call from someone out in Ednam Forest to get me to come out and fix something,” says Paul Proffitt, whose job is to manage just about everything for the Ednam neighborhood.
That Ednam has a Proffitt, and Ednam Forest does not, shows the biggest difference between these high-end communities. While the exuberant middle-ager might like the individualism afforded by Ednam Forest, the chore-weary senior might prefer the simplicity of Ednam and Ednam Village.
Ednam and Ednam Village: Don’t do it yourself
It’s the oldest cliché in the real estate book, but location does go a long way toward explaining the price Ednam residents are willing to pay for a tightly packed collection of homes—the average assessment is about $730,000. Adjacent to both Boar’s Head and Farmington Country Club, and with the 29 bypass only a mile away, the neighborhood of 110 units (24 of which are condos) works well for retirees who have equity to cash out and a desire to stay close to the action.
 As seen from a nearby lake, the attached but still generous homes of Ednam carry equally sizeable price tags. |
Ednam Village, with only 33 units, has a similar set. “We do have a lot of retirees,” says David Morris, president of the Ednam Village Neighborhood Association, “particularly single women.” (Hear that, ye olde playas?) Like Morris, a retired UVA engineering professor, many Ednam and Ednam Village residents once lived in bigger homes and/or more remote areas of greater Charlottesville.
What’s particularly enticing about Ednam and Ednam Village for many who move there is that just about everything is taken care of. That means annual dues are hefty—about $3,600 in Ednam Village—but that covers lawncare, water, trash collection, security and road maintenance.
“Landscaping is a big selling point for them —they don’t want to do it,” says Proffitt.
That uniformity of care, however, sometimes leads to a uniformity of look too, in terms of both landscaping and curbside appeal. It’s not egregiously generic—there is some variety in architectural styles in Ednam, which was built out between 1980 and 2002 by several different builders—but the houses in each section tend to blend together.
 Ednam’s condos draw retirees cashing out their equity and washing their hands of yard work. |
Ednam Forest: rugged individualism (sort of)
Keep going on Ednam Drive past the Boar’s Head and you find yourself in Ednam Forest, a subdivision of about 130 homes. The difference between it and Ednam is immediately apparent: Almost no two houses in Ednam Forest are alike, each built with a broad range of materials, colors and rooflines. One house resembles a converted barn. Another fits the grand colonial bill. The roof of a modern structure seems to mimic the steep slopes on which it’s perched.
On a clear Sunday, a few hearty residents stroll the unsidewalked (and largely untrafficked) streets. Unlike many contemporary developments, it hasn’t completely obliterated its namesake—there are enough trees in the neighborhood to give it an enclosed feel. Another sight afforded is a woman raking her own leaves—something you won’t see in Ednam Village. And lo and behold, there are children here.
“We feel very fortunate to have in the neighborhood some younger families,” says Dottie Brown, president of the Ednam Forest Homeowners Association.
Despite the eclectic homes, the community does have an architectural review board, which has a requirement that an architect be licensed to practice in Virginia. “It gives us a degree of assurance that the house will be well built,” says Brown.
The price of privacy
Though the Ednam communities have signs emphasizing that they are private communities, they don’t go out of their way to make outsiders feel uncomfortable. They aren’t gated like Glenmore, and don’t have signs prohibiting joggers, as Farmington does.
The roads are private, which has its costs—the neighborhood associations must be vigilant in setting aside funding for paving projects and other upkeep issues. On the other hand, private road maintenance also means quicker service during severe storms. Proffitt remembers that during the blizzard of ’96, he had to convince Ednam residents that Route 250 still wasn’t safe for travel, despite the clear roads outside their own homes.
Brown says that Ednam Forest had several vandalism and burglary incidents in the fall. “It seemed to be there were some neighborhoods close by that were hit around the same time,” says Brown.
The biggest price of living in an Ednam neighborhood is, well, price. The average Ednam Forest abode is assessed at just under $1 million, which mirrors the half dozen properties currently listed. Ednam Village, with its attached houses, has an average assessment of $650,000.
The heart of the Boar’s Head
One of the chief aspects of Ednam life is the proximity to the Boar’s Head Inn. Area residents can walk the trails, join the sports club or dine at the Inn. Generally, it seems a symbiotic relationship with open lines of communication.
By all accounts, Boar’s Head has gone out of its way to update Ednam communities on plans for a $10 million, 17,000-square-foot conference center. Perhaps the biggest impact of the “Meeting Pavilion,” which more than doubles the event capacity at the Inn to 500, is the extra traffic it will generate.
“They are very kind to keep us posted on each step of the way as they dig up the road and reroute traffic and that sort of thing,” says Brown. Proffitt and Morris have similar praise for how Boar’s Head has handled the situation.
Boar’s Head returns the compliments. “It’s a win-win situation,” says Jorg Lippuner, general manager. “We bring a lot of amenities. And what we appreciate is that they are very lovely neighborhoods of homes.”
At a glance
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Distance from Downtown: 4.3 miles
Distance from UVA Hospital: 3.1 miles
Elementary school: Murray
Middle school: Henley
High school: Western Albemarle
Average assessment:
Ednam Village: $652,000
Ednam: $731,000
Ednam Forest: $998,000
Number of homes currently on the market: 5
Average price of homes currently on market: $1 million
Average square footage of those houses: 3,700
Increase in assessments, 2005 to 2007:
Ednam Village: 16.9 percent
Ednam: 14.6 percent
Ednam Forest: 14.6 percent
