Sales pick up for Belmonte Builders' large Saratoga County subdivision, with plans to add more lots
The first homebuyers have started to move into Belmonte Builders’ new development in Wilton.
“At Forest Grove, it’s been eight years of working with the town on their needs and desires,” said Peter Belmonte, president of the Clifton Park-based homebuilder. “And creating a community with what customers want.”
It is Belmonte’s largest single-location project to date — a 321-lot subdivision with walking trails, clubhouse, pools and other amenities. Belmonte is already looking to expand the master plan community to 421 lots due to the recent acquisition of land, according to documents filed with the town of Wilton.
Forest Grove is being constructed on 713 acres on Jones Road, near Putnam Lane, north of Exit 15.
About 45 homes are under contract or have closed since the neighborhood opened sales last fall, said Lindsey Belmonte, vice president of customer relations. Two families have moved into the neighborhood, with a third home closing this month.
The interest in Forest Grove has so far exceeded expectations.
The homes start in the $500,000s, with single-family homes starting at $576,000 and twin homes starting at $517,900.
Mike Lust, director of sales and marketing at Belmonte Builders, said higher interest rates haven’t deterred most of their buyers. Many of them, he said, are selling other homes or downsizing, which means they are paying cash or putting down much larger down payments.
The Forest Grove community from Belmonte Builders will feature a mix of single-family homes and twin homes.
Peter Belmonte said the neighborhood is meant to appeal to three demographics: larger homes for growing families, smaller homes for people looking to downsize and twin homes for those looking for maintenance-free living.
The twin homes are a newer concept for the builder. Instead of traditional townhomes stacked like row houses, with windows at the front and back, the twin homes have windows on three sides. The monthly HOA fee for the twin homes, because they are maintenance free, are higher, around $200 a month.
The homes will be in the Saratoga Springs City School District.
Belmonte said construction is expected to start soon on the development’s 5,000-square-foot community center with a large event space, fully functional kitchen, a large fitness center, an outdoor pool, an outdoor pavilion and kitchen and two pickleball courts.
The grounds feature sidewalks, street lamps, a dog park, 7 miles of walking trails and “pocket parks” dotted throughout.
Belmonte said they’ve built the neighborhood so that some areas feel like a small town with the sidewalks and street lamps, while other parts feel more rural, with the homes spread farther apart. All of the homes are backed up to woods or green space.
They visited planned communities in the South to get ideas for how to build out the neighborhood, adapting some plans to the weather of the Northeast.
The builder has donated around 350 acres of land to the town of Wilton for the walking trails. And as part of plans to expand the neighborhood and add additional lots, Belmonte is donating another 88 acres of land off Ruggles Road in Wilton that they plan to keep as “forever forest.”
Belmonte expects the Forest Grove development will take 12 to 15 years to complete, though at the current sales pace the neighborhood would be bought out in eight to 10 years.
Elsewhere in Saratoga County, Belmonte recently started sales for homes at the Juniper Ridge neighborhood in Halfmoon. Belmonte bought 35 lots in the subdivision developed by Abele Homes off Route 236. Sales of Belmonte homes in that neighborhood start at $549,900.
There are also about 20 lots available in Belmonte’s Waite Meadows neighborhood, a 34-home community in Clifton Park off Waite Road and Route 146 between Rexford and Clifton Park Center. Homes in that neighborhood start in the $600,000s.
