Building Lot Perfection, One Acre at a Time

Karen Graham

Country Estate Lot Developer Donald Kerr and son Jeff of Bethany Village Developments. Photo: Karen Graham.

Country Estate Lot Developer Donald Kerr and son Jeff of Bethany Village Developments. Photo: Karen Graham.

Donald Kerr discovered the area during his trips to Saddlewood, an equestrian centre located just west of Ski Hill Rd. north of Bethany, where his daughter attended Horse Camp during the 1980’s. As a seasoned developer, he appreciated the picturesque landscape of the area, and also recognized the development potential with improving infrastructure and the site’s proximity to the GTA which made it an attractive location for Kerr’s development style. He describes himself as a Country Estate Developer, establishing premium housing developments in communities such as Bradford on the outskirts of the GTA with minimum lot sizes exceeding one acre. Now in Phase 2, the Bethany Village project offers beautiful, open or wooded pre-serviced building lots with underground gas, hydro and telephone services on well-lit, paved roads just a stone’s throw from Highway 7A north of Bethany.

Unlike many development projects which typically run three years from start to finish, Kerr’s horizon is a long one- he thinks in terms of decades, as evidenced by the Bethany project that has been in the works for almost 30 years. Since the original purchase of 80 acres in 1988, he has acquired contiguous property as it became available, and now holds a total of 375 acres for development. He acknowledges the contribution of the project Manager former Millbrook resident Nelson Lupton with making the project viable despite its long time frame. It was Lupton’s keen eye that convinced Kerr to purchase the last few acres a few years ago, as Lupton identified it as a very convenient source of gravel for the project, a conclusion that eliminated the need to purchase gravel. This is one of many insightful decisions requiring foresight and patience where material on site has been sifted, sorted and stored for later use on the project…

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