Green Subdivision

Alabama Whitehouse Fork A Unique Subdivision in Baldwin County.

by Jene' Young

Published: Thu, July 17, 2008 - 3:51 pm CST Last Updated: Wed, July 30, 2008 - 3:11 pm CST

With new subdivisions popping up all across Baldwin County, one stands out for Green living. This new development, located in Whitehouse Fork has taken on the challenge to be more eco-friendly.

When you first walk up to the Beebe Farm, there is a lot to look at!
"We have an amazing collection of traditional farm animals, we're not a zoo. But we have just about every traditional farm animals you can imagine, including because we're Southern, peacocks all over the place,” says Tommy Swearingen.

His family has owned the land since the 1930s. And now, he wants to share it with people that think green. "The building standards are the U.S. Green Building Council, LEEDs standard, or the Earthcraft standard."

That means you home has to be energy efficient. Before you build, you’ll want to take into account the overall design. For example, you’ll want to take into account the orientation of te sun, and how that will affect your homes heating and cooling. You may also need shading for your southern windows, to keep the summer heat out.

While there’s plenty of space to build, there is a limit on the number of home.

"What we don't have are golf clubs and density. Twenty five homes on 1150 acres is quite a lot of open space."

Swearingen says it's a matter of thinking about ecology and ethics.

"People are startled when they come out here because they're not use to seeing a farm that looks like this, or a forest that looks like a long leaf forest that we manage."

And this is all only twenty five minutes from Downtown Mobile.
"For years people thought this area in Baldwin County was way out, probably because they weren't use to this commute. Everyone is use to turning right in Spanish Fort to head down toward Daphne and Fairhope.

For more information on this new development, or to check out the farm animals, call Tommy Swearingen, 251-937-FARM.

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