Bennett Valley Estate

The project is a 220-acre private estate in Sonoma County, bordering Annadel State Park and overlooking the length of Bennett Valley. The land had never been developed. The owner's ambition was to subdivide it into four residential lots, each with its own building site, its own access, and its own utilities, while preserving the character of the property as a whole.

Studio Graf served as the lead consultant and owner's representative on the subdivision itself, coordinating engineering, specialty consultants, budget, and construction. The role was primarily technical rather than design-focused, but the groundwork established here is what made every subsequent home on the property possible.

The first phase established the shared infrastructure. A 3,000-foot access road was constructed to connect all four lots to the public road, drawn to follow the natural contours of the land and minimize impact on the terrain. Two local wells were tied into a 22,000-gallon storage tank supplying domestic water to every lot, and power and gas were extended from the city grid. The scope required coordinating a wide range of engineers and specialty consultants to comply with the strict California regulatory framework.

In a second and third phase, two of the four lots had driveways and utilities extended to the building sites, and each lot had a barn constructed. This work laid the foundation for the individual residences that Studio Graf has since designed and continues to design on the estate.