Community Review: Stone Hollow at Cornwall
Posted on 28. Oct, 2008 by Joshua Ferris in Home Buying Guide, Orange County
Stone Hollow at Cornwall is a new single family community by GDC-Homes in the Town of Cornwall New York. GDC-Homes is primarily a northeast home builder led by architect Martin Ginsburg who founded the company forty-five years ago and the architectural roots of this builder shows in all of their homes.
There are seven beautifully crafted models to choose from with genuinely unique characteristics in each home. I’ll be discussing more about the homes momentarily but I want to highlight the neighborhood itself and why Cornwall is such a hidden gem first.
About Cornwall New York
The Town of Cornwall and Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson reside at the foothills of Bear Mountain and are breathtakingly scenic in a way that is more reminiscent of a New England community than an ideally located suburban community of New York City.
With tree-lined sidewalks and dozens of locally owned businesses within the Village, Cornwall has a life all its own. Its not uncommon to visit Cornwall on the weekend and see residents picnicking at Donahue Memorial Park or walking throughout the Village exercising or just enjoying the area.
Local recreation includes kayaking, mountain biking, camping and hiking on Bear Mountain in addition to boating and fishing along the Hudson River. Also within reasonable driving distance are the Mansion Ridge Golf Course, Central Valley Golf Course, skiing and snowboarding at Mount Vernon (New Jersey) and the world renowned Storm King Arts Center.
Walkable Neighborhood
Back to Stone Hollow at Cornwall: The community is comprised of 28 large lots along Knoll Crest Court with the Foxmoor model home residing on the left side of the community. Home prices start in the high $500s.
What I found most interesting about the community was its placement in the Town of Cornwall; sidewalks are present. If you’ve looked for homes in Orange County in the past you will notice how new homes, especially estate sized properties, tend to be a ten minute drive into the sticks at a minimum and there are never any sidewalks. Not so with Stone Hollow where you could walk (with the safety of a sidewalk under your feet) to the Village of Cornwall in 5 – 10 minutes.
There is a sidewalk that runs through the community of Stone Hollow as well which will make living in the neighborhood much more pedestrian friendly.
About the Homes
The quality of construction in the homes was evident the moment I walked into the model home. The home showed flawlessly as I walked from room to room and there was no evidence of shoddy craftsmanship so common in other new home communities I’ve seen. Of particular interest to me was the exceptional attention to detail throughout the model including perfectly aligned trim work and the use of wider than usual windows that let sunlight illuminate the space.
The builder’s on-site representative that guided me through the home noted the extensive list of standard features that come with each home in the community and also highlighted the builder’s 45 years of experience in building custom style homes.
In fact, you need not look further than the streetscape and home exterior to see how the builder took great care in designing an architecturally significant family of homes whose designs will age gracefully over many decades.
“Foxmoor” Model Home Tour
To speaking specifically of the model home that I toured, the Foxmoor, I found the layout was in tune with what many of my buyer clients would enjoy. The Foxmoor is a traditional Colonial layout with a spacious foyer that extends all the way through to the family room in the rear.
The foyer entrance is flanked by two formal living spaces: a living room and dining room. The rooms were brightly lit, in part due to the afternoon sun that shined through each room’s three front-facing windows, and they were both large enough to accommodate sizable pieces of furniture.
The dining room features a butler’s pantry that passes through to the kitchen and is well suited to holiday dinners with the entire family. In the kitchen there is a remarkable amount of cabinet and counter space given its 15 ft. 2 inches by 12 ft. dimensions. My favorite part of this home is the optional screened porch that resides just off the breakfast room and offers a magnificent view of the backyard.
The master suite in the Foxmoor is something of the American dream variety with many options to suit your needs. Take for example the optional double doors that provide privacy to the master suite and nearby home office/study. Two walk-in closets and a huge corner tub infuse more luxury into an already delightful living space.
Upstairs, three bedrooms share an upper landing that overlooks the two story family room below. It’s truly a sight to see on a sunny day when the wall of windows overlooking the family room provides a picturesque view of the property behind the home.
The second floor of the Foxmoor is very configurable, my on-site guide notes, because the third bedroom’s massive walk-in closet can be divided to accommodate a second floor laundry area or removed altogether in favor of a smaller closet with a private bathroom. The space can also be divided into an on-suite bathroom with a closet and a hallway facing laundry area.
Other second floor options include an attic that can be finished completely as a bonus room that is more than able to house many guests or serve as a play area.
Community in Review
Concluding my tour of the community I have to say that I’m impressed. At a time when other builders are cutting back on standard features and upgrades, it is refreshing to discover a new home community whose builder puts emphasis on tailoring their homes to meet the needs of their buyers.
The location couldn’t get much better and, while I feel the starting price point may put Stone Hollow out of reach for many, I find the price of admission to be well worth the final product.
Photo Gallery
Please Note: Joshua Ferris/Keller Williams Realty are not representing GDC-Homes’ new home sales in Stone Hollow at Cornwall. The above community description is for informational purposes only. To schedule an appointment to view the community with us, please use the form below.