{"id":40861,"date":"2025-08-19T13:44:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T17:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=40861"},"modified":"2025-08-19T13:44:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T17:44:20","slug":"phinney-design-groups-riley-farm-offers-unique-and-sustainable-custom-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/08\/phinney-design-groups-riley-farm-offers-unique-and-sustainable-custom-homes\/","title":{"rendered":"Phinney Design Group\u2019s Riley Farm Offers Unique And Sustainable Custom Homes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Phinney Design Group\u2019s Riley Farm blends modern architecture with natural surroundings, offering custom, sustainable homes that highlight views and feature locally sourced stone, glass, and timber.
Courtesy Phinney Design Group<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Susan Elise Campbell<\/p>\n

The first of 14 custom homes broke ground some months ago at Riley Farm, a unique new development near Lake Lonely in Saratoga Springs. But developer Mike Phinney, owner of Phinney Design Group, said he would \u201cbe happy to take four or five years\u201d to complete construction of the kind of \u201cuniquely designed and sustainable homes\u201d that Phinney is winning prestigious awards for.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not just trying to kick out a subdivision,\u201d he said. \u201cThe owner of the land, Kenneth Scott, wants to develop it in concert with nature.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Scott is a scientist who has traveled the world as an expert in gene therapy and anti-aging technologies, Phinney said. Scott purchased the former working farm in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has done his research and has high sustainability goals to make homes net zero,\u201d said Phinney.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Phinney has been a leader and pioneer in the sustainable design movement since the mid-1990s. His firm focuses on environmentally responsible construction methods and is headquartered in a sustainable green building.<\/p>\n

When Scott approached him, Phinney didn\u2019t sense a good match at first.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as he mentioned a subdivision, I thought, we don\u2019t do generic houses that aren\u2019t tied to a site and where the only thing that differentiates them is the paint color,\u201d said Phinney. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But after a few discussions, Scott convinced him their goals were aligned and told Phinney he wanted him to be the dedicated builder, designer and architect, Phinney said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think I turned him down three times,\u201d he said. \u201cBut he is a unique client with a passion for real estate as well as the ways that habitat can affect health.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span>Each Phinney home is custom designed for the owner, he said. The design process starts with analyzing the site, from zoning requirements to terrain and soil type to sun exposure, the latter being important for solar systems and interior light, as well as exterior design aesthetics.<\/p>\n

The lots at Riley Farm are one-half acre and up to three acres. One parcel is 15 acres, which was dictated by the slope and natural features of the land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Phinney said at one time the Scotts may have wanted to build for themselves on the largest lot, 40 acres across the road from the subdivision, but are leaving it on the market for development. The LA Group, landscape architects in Saratoga Springs, surveyed the land and drew up the lot plans prior to Phinney\u2019s involvement.<\/p>\n

Phinney and Scott agreed all homes will have a \u201ca more sleek, a little more modern style that will play well with the landscape,\u201d although a transitional style will work as well with the combination of the materials Phinney likes to work with: \u201ca lot of stone and glass and steel.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These design decisions will make the Riley Farm homes quite different from what may be deemed typical of Saratoga, with its Victorian and traditional architectural styles.<\/p>\n

\u201cModern design is more about your experience when you\u2019re inside the house looking out, rather than looking at the house from outside,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat you\u2019re often doing is framing the views, so you would design for more glass and floor-to-ceiling windows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another step in Phinney\u2019s custom design process is determining client needs, such as number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and \u201chow they like to live.\u201d He said the final step is budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery client\u2019s wish list is unique and every budget is unique,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

If there is one feature that distinguishes a Phinney home, it\u2019s \u201cthe care given to how it sits on the land,\u201d said Phinney. A Phinney home also features natural materials such as locally quarried stone and locally milled timber.<\/p>\n

Presently one home is under construction and three properties are at \u201cvarious stages of interest.\u201d Phinney said the target is to complete three homes per year. Buyer interest is coming mainly from the local area and from city residents desiring to relocate upstate.<\/p>\n

Homes are priced around seven figures and up, but do not need to be huge homes. The lot sizes lend themselves to residences as small as 1,500 square feet, and the one under construction now is close to 2,500 square feet, he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are playing around with a three bedroom design with 2,000 square feet that may be a little more affordable,\u201d said Phinney.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Being that there is also conservation land surrounding the subdivision and overlooking a lake, the new homeowners will be people who enjoy living \u201cwhere luxury and nature intertwine,\u201d says the web site, rileyfarm.homes.<\/p>\n

Phinney said that a client from more than 20 years ago reached out to say she was thinking of coming back to the area to build a place where her son can live year-round and she can visit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe got into a discussion about smaller, environmentally friendly homes and a Riley Farm property may be perfect for her,\u201d he said. \u201cIt would be amazing if that worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phinney opened a satellite in Lake Placid a year and a half ago when his parents relocated there so he could spend more time with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always had a few projects in the area, but since we\u2019ve opened this office we have gotten a lot more work,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A major new project percolating is \u201cone of the largest developments in Lake Placid \u2014 ever.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Peaks is a 300-unit complex of apartments, townhomes and condominiums,\u201d Phinney said. \u201cThe site is a huge building used for stem cell research in the 1960s, sold in 2008, and vacant since 2010.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phinney is partnering with Joe Barile, a former Olympic luger and original developer of Whiteface Lodge, a shopping plaza facing the resort, and other businesses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Phinney has additional links to the winter Olympics. His father was a bobsled racer growing up in the area. Now Phinney Design is on the team modernizing the bobsled track and associated buildings at the sports complex.<\/p>\n

Phinney said he was the kind of kid who left his \u201chouse in Lake George in the morning, spent the day in the woods or at a creek, and would be home for dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he went to college for architecture he saw that buildings were \u201curban influenced and often disconnected from nature.\u201d His thesis for RPI explored environmental awareness and how buildings could be more sustainable, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuildings consume about half the natural resources in the world,\u201d he said. \u201cMy respect and admiration for the natural world and my trying to preserve it, and not damage it, has influenced my work.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Visit phinneydesign.com for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Susan Elise Campbell The first of 14 custom homes broke ground some months ago at Riley Farm, a unique new development near Lake Lonely in Saratoga Springs. But developer Mike Phinney, owner of Phinney Design Group, said he would \u201cbe happy to take four or five years\u201d to complete construction of the kind of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":40866,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\nPhinney Design Group\u2019s Riley Farm Offers Unique And Sustainable Custom Homes - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/08\/phinney-design-groups-riley-farm-offers-unique-and-sustainable-custom-homes\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Phinney Design Group\u2019s Riley Farm Offers Unique And Sustainable Custom Homes - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Susan Elise Campbell The first of 14 custom homes broke ground some months ago at Riley Farm, a unique new development near Lake Lonely in Saratoga Springs. 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