By Jeff Ostroth
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
When Mark Hunter came to Cedar Crest over five years ago, nothing stood on the property except for some trailers at the bottom of the hill. The foundations of the first two buildings had been started, but that was it.
Eight months later and right on schedule, Cedar Crest celebrated the grand opening of its Village Square Clubhouse and Timber Ridge residence building. And since that time, Mark has shepherded the dramatic growth of this unique community to its near completion. This fall, Cedar Crest will open its final neighborhood with the Woodland Commons Clubhouse and adjoining residence buildings, Walden Place and Arbor View.
How is the new neighborhood coming, Mark?
“It’s coming along great! It’s on schedule, and the location is terrific. The buildings are circled around a wooded wetland and on three sides, there’s forested parkland. So it’s going to be a beautiful setting.”
Tell us a bit about what the director of development does.
“A big part of the job is entitlement. That means you’ve got the pieces of paper that say you can actually build there. So it’s getting all the permits and all the approvals from the local, state, and federal governments.
“A year ago I got the approvals for the final neighborhood that we’re working on now, so my entitlement work is pretty much done here at Cedar Crest. From there you do the design process and then you start the construction. I have to make sure that the quality is where it should be, that we’re staying on schedule, that we’re keeping costs under control. We’ve been pretty successful at that.”
What would you say was the biggest highlight of your tenure here?