By Jennifer Carter Sowers, Midlothian Lifestyle Magazine – March 28, 2019
Built in 1910 for Edwin and Meade Laird, the original Pinifer Park home and its 25 acres was meant as a rural summer retreat for the couple and their four children, who also had a Park Avenue home in the heart of Richmond. They spent the next several years commuting between the city and their sedate country home when they finally took up permanent residence at Pinifer Park in 1912. Fast forward almost a 100 years later, and developer and home builder Dutch Goddard had a vision for this property when it came on the market in 2008. He wanted to preserve the beauty and history of Pinifer Park while developing the adjacent acreage for a select few lots to form an intimate neighborhood of luxurious, unique homes that would pay homage to its historic past. Pinifer Park is an oasis surrounded by convenience, with dining, shopping and entertainment options less than a 10-minute drive away. He describes it as “building a community in a park.”
Dutch painstakingly renovated the original 4,700-square-foot home, which was the Richmond Symphony House in 2012. It quickly sold, and since then, an additional seven families also call Pinifer Park home. The eight completed homes range from $950,000 to more than $2 million. There are currently just six lots varying from 1 to 6 acres as well as the stunning 5,000-square-foot model home available for sale.
Sitting atop a high Midlothian hill, Pinifer Park’s home designs will transport you back in time as Dutch’s inspirations are found in the Revival styles of the 1920s and 1930s. Each home is unique, and the neighborhood is reminiscent of many old homes that you know around the Richmond area. His homes are distinctive, and many have made the comment that these homes feel like they have always been there—not just another new house.
“As the builder and developer, it gives me aesthetic and quality control over the community, and it shows in the finished homes,” Dutch says.
For more than three decades, Dutch has endeavored to bring form and function together through a design-build process coupling his own experiences, talented designers and unparalleled architects to bring his visions to fruition. These visions are brought to vivid life in the distinctive, unique homes in Pinifer Park.
Pinifer Park’s model home is located at 3400 Robious Crossing Drive in Midlothian.