The Coves: Letting Nature Guide Development

The Coves is a private, exclusive community that expresses its environmental friendliness in significant yet practical ways. This is a place for people who are excited about--and committed to--living in harmony with the area’s natural beauty. That’s how the development was conceived, how we treat community resources, and how our Owner’s Association and residents' club encourage homeowners to treat the design, construction, and maintenance of all homes in the community.

Noted Charlottesville landscape architects NELSON, BYRD, WOLTZ  master planned The Coves specifically to make the experience of our 100 waterfront acres a celebration of its agricultural past, the surrounding Blue Ridge mountains, and the joy of being in the woods on a clear mountain lake.  By design, a walk or drive through our entrance and onto our curved, wooded roads evokes the sense of being on the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway.  From our ridge top homesites and certain trail sections, one can see the broad expanse of the lake, Smith Mountain itself, Peaks of Otter on the Parkway, and a 360 degree pan of the surrounding mountains.  Plus, every homesite offers its own unique, compelling view of the woods, water, and outdoor amenities - and multiple pathways leading to it all.

A Bird's Eye View of The Coves

Watch Our Opening Celebration of the Cliffs Top Pavillion

Community Entrance

Home page image by Stefan Gruber by : Stefan Gruber

The Coves Featured in Smith Mountain Laker Magazine

The Coves was featured in the March - April issue of The Smith Mountain Laker magazine. Click here to read the article! 

A Passion for Natural Design

The Coves Community has a passion for design emphasizing the natural qualities of the land and extending the concept of one’s home to include far more than the confines of a lot boundary. Our homes, shared spaces and trail amenities are also configured to consciously blur the distinction between “indoor” and “outdoor” living and to constantly encourage residents and guests to enjoy all that nature surrounding them has to offer.   With Smith Mountain Lake being one of the finest freshwater lakes in the eastern United States, we also provide creative ways to constantly view, access, and enjoy the water.

The Coves affords current residents and future generations of homeowners with an attractive community and enjoyable lifestyle that encourages access to nature as well as its preservation. Through easements, land use covenants, and innovative preservation techniques, we strive to create a community that minimizes the impact of construction on the land, preserve significant natural and open spaces, and foster a sense of privacy.

We also endeavor to design and construct buildings that are both environmentally responsible and economically sensible, and promote adoption of current technology to facilitate comfortable, efficient, and secure enjoyment of one’s home and the shared spaces around it.

​About the Developers

Optima Properties and CILP, developers and owners of The Coves, have a passion for designing and building communities that emphasize and preserve the natural qualities of the land. Our goal is to afford future generations with a community lifestyle that provides access to nature while helping to ensure its protection. Through careful master planning, land use covenants, and land preservation techniques, we strive to create communities that minimize the impact on the land and preserve significant natural and open space. The partners of Optima share over four decades of land and community development experience.
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