ABOUT AVENBURY LAKES
Avenbury Lakes is an “active adult community” – where 80 percent of the households must have at least one family member who is 55 years of age or older. The remaining 20 percent of the household can be occupied by residents between the ages of 18 to 54. Children and grandchildren under 18 years old are welcome to visit and stay with Avenbury homeowners, as long as they are not permanent residents. Avenbury Lakes Homeowners Association is guided by a set of rules and regulations authorized by the Board of Directors and administered by a management company.
The initial homes were built and occupied in 1999 (Plain Dealer 1999) with the final residences being completed in 2006. There are a total of 352 homes. All the homes are single family units, not condominiums. There are six different floorplans: two Paired Villa, two Garden Home and two Manor Home floorplans.
Avenbury was built as a conservation development which requires that a minimum of 40 percent of the community must be dedicated to open spaces. Nearly 50 percent of the 146 acres comprising Avenbury Lakes is dedicated to the wetlands, lakes, walking trails and green areas.
The choice of prairie plant materials originally selected for Avenbury Lakes for their suitability to this climate and clay soil and their compatibility to thrive with and enhance each other. The complementary root systems of the chosen wildflowers and grasses work together so that, as they mature, they squeeze out weeds. The chosen plants co-exist tightly knitted and develop into low-maintenance garden designs that require few chemicals and little work. Since nearly half of Avenbury’s 146 acres is green space, it’s both wise and cost effective to capitalize upon the natural behavior of the plants to do as much maintenance as possible for us.
The rock pictured to the left is located on Middleton at the entrance to the wetlands. It reads:
AVENBURY LAKES PROPERTY HISTORY
Avenbury Lakes sits on approximately 147 acres of land. Prior to this community, it was owned by several prominent families from Avon. The majority of the property where the lakes and the Avenbury Lodge now exist were acres of grapes, soybeans, corn, hay and apple orchards. They also raised chickens and cows in the five barns that were located next to the farmhouse. When the builder, Joe Scaletta, bought the property in 1997, he decided to restore the house and reuse the wood from the barn in the Avenbury Lodge. Joseph and Elizabeth Forthofer built the home in 1911. It is a four-square prairie home typical of the era, and serves as the inspiration for Avenbury Lakes architecture. Their daughter, Olga, married Ed Riegelsberger, and lived in the home most of her life. Joseph, Elizabeth, Riegelsberger, and Puth are all streets in Avon named after this family. The other large parcel of land on the West side of the property where the brick caretaker’s house sits was owned by the Nagel family. They also raised farm animals and grew crops. Nagel Road is named after this family. We hope, like those generations before us, that we can enjoy this land for years to come.