As travel challenges continue to ease in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the opportunity to find rest and relaxation outside of our busy urban centers that is still close to home is increasingly popular. Whether it’s the Hamptons for New Yorkers or favorite spots up and down the coast or in the countryside, city dwellers have many options to explore.
A new destination has recently emerged in central Pennsylvania’s bucolic Cumberland County that offers a rewarding option for those seeking an escape from urbanism that is within a two-to-three-hour drive from Philadelphia, D.C., Baltimore, and New York.
The Allenberry community in Boiling Springs, PA is a development that offers resort amenities for short-term, extended, and long-term stays in a community that also includes single-family homes. The resort is fast becoming a spa and health & wellness destination because of its extensive array of biohacking, wellness, and vibrancy treatments & services. The world-class spa facility; however, is part of a bigger plan.
What’s particularly noteworthy about the Allenberry community is the vision that fuels its continued growth. Mike Kennedy, a railroad investor and owner of Allenberry and its integrated housing development, The Porches of Allenberry, has his sights set on creating an environment that promotes community. The foundation for the community is a built environment and services vision that fosters a sense of connectedness between residents and visitors, their health & wellness, the natural environment, and the heritage of this special location.
Kennedy subscribes to the concept of “new urbanism”, a design movement which promotes environmentally conscious walkable neighborhoods and public spaces that are accessible to diverse residents. The architecture and landscape design tenets of new urbanism celebrate local history, climate, ecology, and building practice.
“We set out to create a place that enables people to live the way they really want to live,” said Kennedy. “Today’s urban lifestyle virtually and tangibly saps our physical and mental energies. We are too easily estranged from our neighbors and nature by location and our built environment.” He adds, “Allenberry is designed to restore our vitality by helping us to authentically connect with our neighbors, continually meet new people and their diverse life journeys, embrace our wellness, and connect with the beauty of the nature around us.”
To fulfill such a grand vision required bold steps to design and build a geographic environment that would be a foundation for fostering connection and wellness-based lifestyle. The property was literally laid out to form connection. The vision is to create an old-world community in the modern world and project it to the world.
At Allenberry it started with place.
It is hard to think of a more peaceful and beautiful rural location. Cumberland County, located in the heart of central Pennsylvania, has long been a popular day or weekend trip given its proximity to New York, Philadelphia, and D.C. Allenberry is located on the banks of the Yellow Breeches trout stream, regarded as hallowed ground to fly-fisherman. In fact, it is Orvis®-endorsed as a top trout fishing destination in the U.S. The river is also popular for boating, kayaking/canoeing and guided trips.
The renowned Appalachian Trail, which runs from Georgia to Maine, crosses through the Cumberland Valley at its halfway point right at the Allenberry property.
Currently Kennedy and his team are putting the finishing touches to the med-spa services working with a bio-hacking team from California. A range of medical services including Botox and dermal filler injectables, fat melting, micro-needling, and anti-aging treatments will join a wide range of traditional spa services and treatments.
“The biohacking space is super exciting,” said Kennedy. “It’s geared around strengthening our immune system by working with our bodies at a cellular level. If the last 18 months has taught us anything, it’s about the importance of taking care of our whole self – physically and mentally – to cope with the unexpected.”
The valley is bordered by the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachian Mountains and boasts the Cumberland Valley AVA wine region as well as many craft breweries, cideries and distilleries. It is a serene and stunning landscape full of rich history, charming downtowns, and welcoming store fronts.
In 2017, Kennedy purchased the property set amidst trees and rolling lawns. With the goal of creating a vibrant and active community, he and his team have created a development that includes short-term and extended-stay lodgings, flex-office space, a restaurant and café, a playhouse, centers for cultural activities such as cooking classes, and an artist-in-residence facility. There are plans for a film festival and the resort and spaces are being reimagined to have a magical feel and sense of place, which is a natural extension of the property.
Single-family homes are an important facet of Allenberry and 128 are being added as part of a three-stage development called, “The Porches of Allenberry”. These properties will soon be joined by 160 additional residential “flats” that are being built with the grade of the land so as not to intrude further on the natural beauty. Upon completion, the residential community will have a population of more than 600 residents. The homes, together with the resort, follow a design aesthetic that respects the architectural heritage of the region.
According to Kennedy, “We want to create a village where people visiting our resort for a few days will be motivated to make this their home because it is simply such a great place to live.”
The lifestyle of Allenberry’s residents is designed around concierge living with priority access to all the resort’s dining, cultural, recreation, and health & wellness amenities. The community is attracting residents of all ages who value the conveniences and turnkey services of being part of a resort community and who are seeking a place that embraces neighbors getting to know one another. While this may seem to first appeal to active adults 55 and older, the community has been successful in attracting residents of all ages and seeks age diversity within the community as another way to enrich the lives of all the residents.
A Health & Wellness Destination
Allenberry may be best known today for the quality of its spa and health & wellness features – the crown jewel of the overall development and central to Kennedy’s vision of a community that can enhance personal vitality and wellness by restoring mental and physical energy. Allenberry may have created the most advanced biohacking spa on the planet. Cheryl, the spa’s director, says “When people feel and look better, they live longer and have a vibrant quality of life. The human connection we foster here at Allenberry takes it even further.”
The service and treatment menu is extensive offering bio-hacking and super human protocols, a med spa, and traditional as well as innovative new relaxation and wellness therapies in one of the country’s most comprehensively outfitted facilities.
Kennedy admits he took some inspiration from Thoreau’s Walden Pond in the design vision for Allenberry. As a result, the development is committed to including every aspect of resort and residential living that can support a community connecting people to wellness, nature and one another. Those seeking rest, restoration, and recuperation from the pressures of urban living should take note – this community may just be what you are seeking.
Allenberry welcomes guests for short and extended stay lodging, weddings and corporate events. For more information visit www.allenberry.com or contact them for services information at (717) 258-3211 or new home information at (717) 462-4273.
