Developer buys former 613-acre camp near Indian Land; zoned for 850 homes

Homebuilder Lennar has completed its purchase of the 613-acre Tree Tops property – a former camp for disadvantaged children – where it plans to build a gated “active adult” community centered on a 10-acre lake and miles of trails.

Lennar bought the property Thompson Child & Family Focus, which operated the Tree Tops camp and provides services to children and families in crisis. which used the land as camp for disadvantaged children.

Preserve at Tree Tops is zoned for up to 850 homes at 9070 Van Wyck Road, between the unincorporated communities of Indian Land and Van Wyck south of the Carolina Lakes development and east of the Catawba Indian Reservation.

The Lancaster County Council approved a development agreement for 835 homes in December, but the project still has to be reviewed by county planners.

More than 50 percent of the property will remain as open space, Lennar said in a press release, and nearly all of the old-growth forest surrounding the lake will stay.

“Tree Tops is going to be a return to nature for outdoor enthusiasts and adventure seekers,” said Jon Hardy, president of Lennar’s Charlotte division.

Specifics on the homes have note been finalized. Construction could start in the second quarter of 2016, Lennar officials said.

The zoning allows for no more than half of the homes in Tree Tops to be age-restricted – at least one resident in each home would have to be 55 or older, and all permanent residents must be 19 or older.

Lennar, however, is considering developing the entire community in that fashion.

As part of its development agreement with the county, Lennar will donate:

▪ 2.2 acres on the north side of Van Wyck Road for use as a medical, fire or law enforcement facility

▪ $835,000 for law enforcement, fire and emergency services in the Lancaster panhandle

▪ $417,500 to the Lancaster County School District.

▪ Up to $350,000 for improvements to Van Wyck Road between U.S. 521 and the entrance of the new development

This story was originally published July 14, 2015 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Developer buys former 613-acre camp near Indian Land; zoned for 850 homes."