Summer 2022

Land Ahead

For those feeling called to build on acreage, there is freedom–but also unique circumstances that need to be considered.

Words by Lisa Waterman Gray  |  Photos by Josh Mais

W

hether you want a primary home on several acres or a rural sanctuary for brief getaways, there’s a different kind of freedom associated with creating a custom property from the ground up. But there are also many things to consider when purchasing acreage beyond an established or prepped community

ReeceNichols real estate agent Dana Benjamin’s family ran the former Benjamin Ranch stable, so she knows a thing or two about acreage. Most of her clients want fewer than 20 acres, with 10 acres being the most popular choice. Dana always recommends bringing in a land planner to assess potential properties and checking online maps to see what is built around them.

Brenda Sanders, with the Gateway Real Estate Team from Weichert Realtors, found that, during the pandemic, she was receiving many more calls about finding room to spread out. People are getting into gardening. They want to hunt for recreation, to play outdoor games and to stargaze. Some clients want horses or hobby space, a swimming pool, a trampoline or entertaining space. “They’re coming from an emotional state of wanting sharpened focus on family,” Brenda says.

Acreage provides more activity space—and perhaps more room for detached outbuildings—suggests Sarah St. Peter, owner of residential construction company PCDI Homes.  

Teresa Dunn and Jim Holland of the Dunn/Holland team with Crown Realty agree. “Most clients want to step away from the city and have a little kingdom of their own,” Teresa says. “They want to be at least an hour away from the metro area,” Jim adds. 

Dana finds that her clients from the coasts are used to driving up to an hour or more to work each day. “We determine the number of miles, or minutes, that works best for them,” she says. 

There are other considerations to make, too. Buyers should determine whether a property offers paved roads, sewers, septic tanks and rural water. They must think about how much land they are willing to maintain. “The amount of time and effort it takes grass to grow is something that a lot of people don’t realize until they live out there,” Sarah says. 

Reliable internet—especially for individuals working from home—can be critical. “I currently live where there is no high-speed access, which makes it difficult to be efficient on the internet,” says custom home builder Bruce Rieke.

Popular Places 

Good access to grocery stores, work, children’s sporting events and churches are important. And school districts are a huge consideration. But Bruce cautions that areas with the best schools may also be more expensive. 

Blue Valley, Louisburg and Lee’s Summit schools are popular among Dana’s clients. So are properties in northern Miami County or south Johnson County, as well as Stilwell, Spring Hill, Bucyrus, Olathe and DeSoto. Brenda adds that western Shawnee offers some beautiful ground, too. Bruce and the Dunn/Holland team both see similar trends as well. 

Focusing on Leavenworth and some Wyandotte and Johnson County properties, Sarah says her clients are gravitating to Basehor, Tonganoxie and Piper. “For 60 percent or more of who we build for, the quality of the school district is always a consideration,” she notes. 

A Different Kind of Check List 

When buying raw land instead of a prepared lot, there are more items to check off. “Identify your overall budget,” Bruce says, “so you know it will cover all of the necessary requirements.” Increased distance from the home to the street or utility lines can increase costs. If the acreage is treed, with rough terrain or difficult access to a building site, costs may rise. 

Brenda recommends consulting an acreage-savvy builder to determine whether a property will accommodate water, utilities and septic. “When a property requires a septic system, a soils test may need to be done if a person is concerned about the cost,” Bruce explains. In addition, without a natural gas line, a buyer may have to use propane. 

Buyers must ensure that a water line will adequately supply the home and meet local jurisdiction and fire department requirements for water flow. They should also assess fire hydrant access—if one exists. “Water and electric are the two main things that have to be there,” Jim says. 

Dana uses land surveys to confirm property lines and to research flood plains. “We also consider mineral rights,” she says. “[Space] below ground may be owned by somebody else, so that owner can still place an oil well on the property.” 

Something else to think about? Determining who may subdivide a piece of property—and how that may have an impact on allowable home size—or livestock guidelines. It’s also important to learn about upcoming developments like industrial parks. 

Online Exclusive with Costain Construction

Siting Your Home 

Working with a builder on site helps enormously with property layout. “If clients want privacy, they want trees,” Dana says. “About 50 percent of buyers will hold out for a property with a creek, pond or lake, or for terrain that would allow them to build a pond.”

Houses, pools, retaining walls and outbuildings must all accommodate the topography. Buyers should assess whether there is enough slope to allow a walkout or daylight basement, and what site costs will be required to accommodate terrain when excavating or pouring foundation.

Some buyers want their home to face in a certain direction. “It’s not uncommon to buy a wooded area that’s really hilly, and it’s like an ice-skating rink in the wintertime,” Jim says. “Pay attention to where the sun rises and sets and how that may affect how you live in your home,” Bruce adds. 

Freedom From HOAs 

When buying acreage, homeowners must ensure they meet any applicable regulations—city, state, county or otherwise—though developer restrictions are usually minimal. Living on acreage provides much more creative freedom, but that also applies to existing and future homes nearby, Sarah says. Despite neighbors living farther away, it’s important to know what they do on their property, too, such as parking multiple cars. 

“Opportunities for more family activities are abundant in rural settings,” Bruce says. “You may want an outbuilding for sporting needs, or a place to store your toys, or a shop for your car hobby. Living on acreage offers many things that you cannot get on a city lot.”

Dana agrees. As a child, “All my friends lived in neighborhoods, but they wanted to come to our house because we had all the fun ‘toys.’”

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Keith Sauro

Publisher

What is your publishing background? 

My father was in printing with GSA as I was growing up and I was able to spend time at his plant. I never met anyone that took so much pride in his job as my father. This was my first introduction to printing.

At the age of 24 I answered an employment ad for an account executive position with Relocating in Kansas City magazine. This company also published Kansas City Homes Gardens. I found that I loved working with small businesses and learning I had a good ear in listening for problems and helping to solve them. I then was asked to help the company expand. My wife and I moved to Las Vegas to launch relocating in Las Vegas magazine during the boom. My first Publisher role. I continued to sharpen my skillset and understanding for Publishing. In Las Vegas my son Evan was born and we wanted to find a way to get back to KC  and I was approached by the Ashley group a division of Cahners Publishing, to launch The Kansas City Home Book, a hard cover annual luxury design book. After two years, and a very successful launch, I was asked to come back to KCH&G as Publisher. My life had now come full circle. These experiences and design products I managed and created help formulate what design KC is today. 

What is your favorite issue?

Every issue is always exciting. When I pick up the first issue at the printer, it still feels like Christmas every time. However, for me our premier issue will always be my favorite. To take something from concept to actual inception is an amazing feeling, and it was always have a warm spot in my heart!

What is your home’s design style?

I am a minimalist…. I hate clutter (although you can’t tell that from my office always), I even have a hard time putting things on the walls… I like clean and simple, and lots of color.

Where and how do you like to spend time at home?

I absolutely love my primary bedroom, bath, and shower. Not that I spend all my time there, but every morning it makes me happy getting ready for the day.

If you could live anywhere, where and what would your dream home be?

Laguna Beach, CA right on the water. When I lived in Las Vegas we would drive the high dessert several times a year and enjoy Laguna

If you could make your current home better, what would you do? 

Raise my basements ceiling so I could have a golf simulator.

What are your best memories of home when growing up? 

I was born into an Italian family in Boston. I was raised in East Boston, and my memories of Sunday dinners with my whole family are some of the fondest memories of my life. As a result, I love to entrtain and cook. Growing up, we didn’t have much, but we didn’t do without. My parents were great providers.

Do you have a personal motto or life philosophy? 

The World is very round. You get back what you put out. I live and die by that motto.

Jared Webb

Director of Sales and Digital Marketing

What is your publishing background? 

From a fairly young age, around age 10 or 11, I had always wanted to work in publishing, especially in news publishing. I wanted to be a journalist but quickly discovered in college that my skill set was better suited for the marketing and advertising side. I started my publishing background with a community newspaper called the Northeast News, in Historic Northeast Kansas City, Mo., then moved up to The Kansas City Star for more than 18 years. 

What is your favorite DKC issue? 

It’s always the next issue coming up! As a team, we are always trying to push the envelope and improve. The features continue to get better and better! However, if I had to choose one that has already been published, it would be Summer 2022. I love the cover and the trend-setting articles!

What is your home’s design style?

A mess—ha, just kidding…kind of. It is a mix of a farmhouse and a lodge. The focal point is the living room fireplace that extends up in a vaulted ceiling. My wife handles the interior of the home; the exterior is where I rock—literally, I love landscape rocks. The front exterior has a Cape Cod-style landscape—think Table Rock Lake/Ozark mountains campfire feel. My jam is outdoors!  

Where and how do you like to spend time at home?

In front of the fireplace or in the backyard around the fire pit near our water fountain. I love water, earth and fire.

If you could live anywhere, where and what would your dream home be?

A 1.5- story timber home in the woods near a lake—Lake Tahoe, perhaps?  

If you could make your current home better, what would you do? 

Add an addition to expand our dining room for hosting dinner parties. And a bigger walk-in closet for my wife. 

What are your best memories of home when growing up? 

I grew up in the best home and best floor plan ever, in my ever-so-humble opinion. It was a 1.5-story home with a finished basement in DeSoto, Kansas! It had a wraparound porch, an attic fan, and killer entertainment in the basement for 1990s standards! It was great.  

Do you have a personal motto or life philosophy? 

Motto: Do your best at whatever you do, don’t sweat the small things, and all things are small things. Life philosophy: The Lord God is sovereign and in control—let go, surrender your life to Him and allow Him to work in your life.  

Lonny Cohen

Senior Account Executive

What is your publishing background? 

Being a housing geek comes naturally to me because of my background in publications involved in the housing and design industry. I’ve been with Kansas City Homes & Gardens and RELO Magazine—and for many years, as a staff vice president of the Home Builders Association, one of my responsibilities included the design, editorial, implementation and sales of the two Parade of Homes guidebooks that the association produced each year.

What is your favorite DKC issue? 

I fell in love with designKC two years before we started publishing it, and each time a new issue comes, I’d say that the new issue is my favorite!

What is your home’s design style?

Having grown up with antiques, I still like the clean lines of American antiques, but I love the eclectic touches that I continue to find for my home.

Where and how do you like to spend time at home? 

As the weather gets nicer, my favorite place is reading on the patio while my dog sleeps.

Are there any home goods you can’t live without? 

I love to cook, but like so many of us, I need to rely on shortcuts, so in my kitchen I need my slow cooker and my food processor. While they’re just basic, I save so much time when I cook and couldn’t live without them.

If you could live anywhere, where and what would your dream home be? 

A beachfront home somewhere in Florida. While my style in Kansas City is an eclectic mix of American antiques and new, the home on the beach would be very beachy, light and open.

What are your best memories of home when growing up? 

My favorite memory of home was the end of each day when our family of four would have dinner and share our stories from our day’s experiences. When I was in high school, my mom went to work as a designer, and the world of design became part of our family and the conversation around the dinner table.

Do you have a personal motto or life philosophy? 

“Never assume anything except possibly a two percent loan!”

Denise Carver

Production Coordinator & Circulation

What is your publishing background?   

None! My background was as a lead dental assistant for more than 20 years. This has been an exciting and fun journey for me.

What is your favorite DKC issue? 

That’s too hard to answer as they’re all wonderful. 

Which of our features have resonated most with you?

I would have to say there are two:  “Home or Museum” in Winter 2021 and “Captivating Mix” in Fall 2021.

What is your home’s design style?

I’m a simple country girl, so I love the rustic, western country feel of a home!  

Where and how do you like to spend time at home? 

Outside, anytime I can, relaxing on my deck or playing in the dirt—I love to garden. Or in my craft room, creating pyrography art (the art of wood burning)—it’s my Zen me-time!

If you could live anywhere, where and what would your dream home be? 

On acreage in the country with a Victorian-style home, featuring a big wraparound porch, and, of course, lots of farm animals, especially horses, as I love to ride! And I wouldn’t forget all my pups, goats and chickens!

If you could make your current home better, what would you do? 

Remodel the primary bathroom and expand the deck to a second lower level, with a fire pit as the central attraction.

What are your best memories of home when growing up? 

Our family camping lake trips. Summers at my grandmas. Swimming in the creeks.   Digging for crawdads in the ditch in front of our house. Raising rabbits and chickens with my daddy.  

Do you have a personal motto or life philosophy? 

Motto: Faith over fear! Philosophy: You can have excuses or results, but you can not have both! 



Andrea Darr

Editor-in-chief

What is your publishing background? 

I have always loved reading books and magazines—I got my first subscription to Architectural Digest at age 17—and knew as a kid that I wanted to be in publishing. I earned a degree in Magazine Journalism from the University of Kansas in 2001. Shortly after graduating, I got my first job at Kansas City Homes & Gardens, and stayed for a decade, only leaving the position of Editor-in-Chief once my first daughter was born. I worked as a freelance writer for other local publications for the next decade while raising my girls and running a successful Airbnb on my property in KCK. When Publisher Keith Sauro called me in 2021 to launch DesignKC, I was ready for a new challenge and excited to use full creative license to create a publication—a full brand—that best represents KC from my experienced perspective.   

What is your favorite DKC issue? 

I think of all of them as my babies and can’t choose one over the other! Whatever the next one is always excites me the most. 

Which of our features have resonated most with you?

Everything in these pages resonates with me on some level! No matter the topic or design style, I most appreciate stories where homeowners are true to themselves and create just-right homes that express their personalities and make for a beautiful and functional life. 

What is your home’s design style?

I live in a 1922 bungalow and also own a twin 1933 bungalow next door that we rent out as an Airbnb on 18 acres near The Legends. Both houses have similarities in floor plan, but mine is more modern and cluttered with family life; our inn has mid-century modern influences and feels more like a retreat, as we designed it exclusively for guests. 

Where and how do you like to spend time at home? 

I am a homebody who loves to putter around the house in my slippers. We often leave the doors wide open and transition between indoors and outdoors often and easily during good weather. I love to lounge in the hammock on the back deck with a book and a glass of wine, watching the sunset from our clear view of the horizon line and sometimes getting out our hefty telescope to ponder the moon and stars. 

Are there any home goods you can’t live without? 

A hand vac for the debris that blows in from said doors being open all the time and the shed fur from our four cats. 

If you could live anywhere, where and what would your dream home be? 

As a lifelong Kansan, it’s hard to imagine living anywhere else. I love to travel and I love the easy access to anywhere that living in the middle provides. I am definitely happy at the bay of a beach or cozied up among the pines in the mountains, and I feel a strong pull toward the Southwest. No matter where I live, I don’t need a large house, just a functional one, somewhat minimal, with only the things and people I love most in it. 

If you could make your current home better, what would you do? 

Add a primary suite and give my girls each their own bedroom and bathroom—it’s getting tight in here! 

What are your best memories of home when growing up? 

My parents made a hobby of moving or building houses every few years, so I grew up with constant change—always picking new floor plans and tile, visiting job sites and refreshing my own room. It was fun to always have a project! And that experience was where my love for home design blossomed and embedded itself into my soul to this day.

Ryan Litts

Art Director

What is your publishing background?

I have been doing graphic design for nearly 25 years. I had my own business for 11 years working on websites, graphic design and publications. I have published countless magazines and periodicals over the years.

What is your favorite DKC issue? 

The first issue. It was the culmination of a vision, dedication and a lot of hard work. It is great to work with a group of passionate people all pulling together in the same direction. We strive to make each issue better than the last and have fun while we are doing it.

Which of our features have resonated most with you?

Not a feature, but I loved “The City Farm Girl” featuring chicken foot stools in our Creative Type department in Summer 2022. I just loved those things. 

What is your home’s design style?

“Country Comfy.” Is that a style? I like for people to walk in and feel cozy and right at home when they are at our home.

Where and how do you like to spend time at home? 

Outside. I love to be outside as much as possible since I spend the majority of time in my office. 

Are there any home goods you can’t live without?

A coffee maker. I love to start my day with a good cup of coffee.

If you could live anywhere, where and what would your dream home be?

I would love to have land overlooking a lake, pond or stream where I could fish anytime I want. Also, there needs to be trees and nature—kind of where we are now. 

If you could make your current home better, what would you do? 

Recreate our downstairs living area. I would love to take out the wall in our kitchen and open it up to our living room so we could have a friendlier space to entertain. Probably the bedroom and bath area, too. 

What are your best memories of home when growing up? 

I grew up having my grandparents as our next-door neighbors. Their front door was always open, and aunts, uncles and cousins were always stopping by. Also, the land we had was great—it was about five acres of mountain terrain and a boy’s paradise.

Do you have a personal motto or life philosophy?

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.