Clarence’s new million-dollar real estate project

Dr. Greg Daniel isn’t messing around with what could be one of the most expensive new developments in Western New York.

Contemporary homes at his Legacy Woods Estates in Clarence, near his own horse farm, are expected to cost more than $1.5 million each.

That would put the equestrian-themed neighborhood in the same category as the nearby Spaulding Lake community, where million-dollar sales are common but still notable for the broader Buffalo Niagara region.

And it would raise the bar for high-end homes in the broader regional real estate market, where $2 million is becoming the new benchmark for the priciest deals.

Located on a 60-acre property off Roll Road, the new neighborhood Daniel is developing would include 50 luxury homes on landscaped lots surrounded by woods, tall grass and a meandering creek. It is designed with a focus on health, wellness and lifestyle, and would include an equestrian track running through it.

These concepts are central to the life of the Trinidad native, who started as an emergency room doctor before becoming a medical entrepreneur and business developer in Buffalo. They have been responsible for the success of its urgent care, occupational health and medical staffing businesses. And they remain at the heart of his new wellness initiatives today, including his planned Nyameke Health project on Jefferson Avenue on Buffalo’s East Side.

With Legacy Woods, he takes that effort to a different level, seeking to be “in harmony with the environment” and bring that to others.

“I love space. I love waking up in the morning to the sound of birds. I love spending an evening watching deer run,” Daniel said. “That kind of life isn’t for everyone. But that’s the kind of environment I grew up in and that’s the kind of environment I sell.”

The homes will be designed with a minimal carbon footprint, using geothermal heating. They will occupy only half of the overall property, mainly in the central part, with the rest of the land forming a buffer zone around the homes as an untouched open space that can develop freely, bordered on the western end by Gott Creek.

“If you are a nature lover, you will love this place,” he said. “Any day you can see deer, foxes. Snapping turtles sometimes come out of the water.”

The site is adjacent to a 28-acre horse farm, Legacy Equestrian, which Daniel purchased in 2010 from the Casilio family. He built his own mansion there in 2012 while modernizing the deteriorated barns, 40-stall stables, riding grounds and indoor arena. Daniel owns six horses, houses several more for others and offers riding lessons and camps, with a team of three to run the business.

So, as part of the broader theme of the new development, Daniel also plans to build horse trails that will run from the farm through the neighborhood and back, and will encourage and allow homeowners to use his farm and even borrow the horses.

“It’s going to be a really nice ride,” he said of the trail. “It is built for people who love, whether for horses, or for nature.”

Luxury homes aren’t new to the area, especially Clarence. But the combination of horseback riding gives Legacy Woods a twist that Daniel hopes will prove attractive. The neighborhood has condo status for tax purposes.

“I just keep myself busy,” said Daniel, who said he is in his 60s. “Life is about balance, and I’ve been fortunate to be healthy until my later years, so I enjoy what life has given me.”

Daniel, who moved into his own home 12 years ago, purchased the vacant land next to his farm from Cimato Enterprises about six years ago. He began work on the project four years ago, installing a new road — Red Hawk Trail — as well as running a sewer line from Roll Road under the creek. The site also has full electric and gas service, so it was ready for development once he got the initial permits from the city.

As part of the first phase of the development – ​​which will include 11 homes – Daniel recently completed the first home on the site, a model home whose design was inspired by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

The 5,800-square-foot, two-level home features the horizontal lines Wright is known for, as well as open room designs and plenty of natural views outside through expansive floor-to-ceiling windows and doors.

Daniel has just started showing it off at open houses this month. There are no offers so far, but dozens of people have responded. Two other residential lots nearby have been sold, but construction on those homes won’t begin for some time as plans still need to be developed and approved by the city.

However, he stressed that homes don’t have to be Wright-inspired or even contemporary.

“Not all houses are the same,” he said. “We will find ways to create unique designs. We just want to have unique properties associated with each home we build, so that this community is recognized as a more modern home community, not the homes you typically see in Western New State. York. »

The Wright-inspired home is dominated by a large, shared-entry atrium and living space that integrates the main kitchen, seating and dining areas into one continuous flow, with ceilings up to 20 feet high to create a sense of openness.

“One of Frank Lloyd Wright’s statements was that flow through a structure should be like water flowing around rocks in a stream,” Daniel said. “That’s one of the things we’ve created here, an environment that has flow associated with it.”

The show home offers four bedrooms, including a ground floor master suite with a giant walk-in closet with built-in shelving and a bathroom with a whirlpool tub, shower, sensor-activated lighted mirrors and dual sinks. Two other bedrooms also have their own bathroom, one with a bathtub and the other with a shower. There is also an office adjacent to the kitchen.