In 2012, an amazing 117 families purchased at Martis Camp, equating to $118 million in gross sales. And 2013 is off to an even greater start, with 35 more properties that have either closed or gone under contract since January 1—equaling over $40 million in gross sales.

In some ways, it’s amazing to think only 198 of our 663 Martis Camp lots remain. In other ways, it only stands to reason.

From the very early days—when the golf course and Lost Library were about the only things in this Tahoe community—Martis Camp has grown into one of the most vibrant and complete year-round, four-season luxury communities in the West.

It’s understood so clearly after visiting Martis Camp that the rare distinction of a private ski connection in the winter, and the award-winning Fazio golf course in the summer are enough to set this community apart. But when you add a kid-centric Family Barn, an iconic Camp Lodge, and 2,100 breathtaking acres (to name a few), Martis Camp is simply in a league of its own.

With all that considered, it’s easy to see why a publication as distinguished as Barron’s says Martis Camp is Tahoe’s best of the best. At the end of the day, they’re simply pointing out what’s so obvious to the 465 families who’ve already chosen to make this rare place a part of their story: there’s nothing else close in Tahoe that provides so much for family and friends!

• The presentation of the first Denise Martinez Scholarship to a Truckee High School senior.  Savannah Graham was chosen from dozens of her peers, as the best representative of Denise’s ideals of scholarship, work ethic, community service and love of golf.  Financial need is also a consideration.   The scholarship is for $10,000, paid in $2,500 annual installments, as long as the student maintains a GPA of 3.0 or better.  Savannah and her mother were surprised and delighted by the award.

• We held the first of the summer’s events on June 25^th.  The Summer Solstice Golf Tournament was held amid unusually windy conditions for June.  The winning team was the foursome of Kevin Andrews, Art Chapman, Brett Reed, and Nathan Riedel.  Young Life and MCCF shared the proceeds from the event, with $20,000 going to Young Life and $8,600 to MCCF.

• The Martis Camp Home Tour was held on Sunday, August 5, which supports the MCCF and Excellence in Education.  Five distinctive homes were featured on the tour, as well as the new Lookout Lodge. The event raised over $40,000 for Excellence in Education, and $8,500 for MCCF.

• The first annual Martis Camp 5K Fun Run was held on Saturday, August 18, to benefit the MCCF.  Approximately 50 members participated, from competitive runners to pregnant walkers with toddlers in tow!  It raised $580 for MCCF, and we hope to grow this into a Martis Camp signature event, with music and a BBQ in the future.

• We held the annual Martinez Member-Ambassador golf tournament on Sunday, October 7.  This is the one event we host annually from which the donations are dedicated to the Denise Martinez Scholarship Fund. 47 members and Ambassadors played in the event which raised $3,600.

• Finally, we contributed to 30 member requested in kind donations to nonprofits in their primary home locations.  Through this program, over $50,000 was raised to benefit these entities supported by members of the Club.

In addition to the above contributions, we have given cash grants totaling over $12,000 to the following 501(c)3 charities, and a number of smaller grants to providers of youth activities:

Boys and Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe – $2,000

Project M.A.N.A. – $2,000

Tahoe Safe Alliance – $2,000

Truckee Family Resource Center – $2,500

Humane Association – $1,000

Arts for the Schools – $1,000

Even if you were unable to join us for any of this past year’s great events, we welcome your support.  Please consider us when you are planning your tax-deductible contributions before the end of the year.  I have enclosed a form to use which allows you to designate where you want your contribution to go, and allows you to charge your member account if you wish.  Early in 2013 I will send you details regarding dates of activities in which we would be delighted to see you involved to support the MCCF.

Please feel free to contact me for more information regarding the charities we support, and apprise me of your charitable interests in the area that you would like for us to consider.

Warmest Regards,

Carla Yeager

President

December 14, 2012

“We really wanted something both rustic and modern. We’ve rented a lot of places in Tahoe over the years, and I felt like I had stockpiled all these ideas for when we were ultimately able to fulfill our dreams,” Chona says.

The Los Angeles–based family’s home was completed in 2010 after a fun collaboration between the Hirsches, Truckee architect Jason Wooley and Truckee builder Mark Tanner. While the goal was to blend a family-friendly home with one ideal for entertaining, equally important to the team was to create exciting blends of styles and materials.

“This whole project inside and out is about blending a contemporary architectural aesthetic with a more mountain architectural aesthetic,” Wooley says.

The home often contrasts rustic reclaimed wood with contemporary elements such as steel detailing. Heavy granite, indigenous to Sierraville, surrounds the black metal garage doors. Mountain materials such as reclaimed picklewood, barnwood and ghostwood from a Montana reservation are mixed with pre-rusted corrugated Corten outside and exposed steel beams inside. A tin corrugated ceiling in the kitchen contrasts with modern stainless steel appliances.

“They really like a contemporary look, but they felt it wasn’t entirely appropriate for this environment,” Wooley explains. Traditional gables face the street, but in back, a modern roof covers the large great room to open up the scenic view.

The project began with Wooley suggesting Martis Camp, the 2,177-acre private community in Martis Valley, as a site for the Hirsches’ vacation home. Their kids, Kaya, 9, and Zade, 7, can hop on their bikes and ride around the fishing pond, go to the Family Barn for bowling or walk to the sports pavilion, Chona says. “It’s a great place to try out their independence mode. Having young kids and living in LA, we are not in a place where they can go down the street and get an ice cream.”

The Hirsches chose a long, skinny “challenge” lot, but it had expansive views and was south facing, Wooley adds.

Taking advantage of this exposure, the home was outfitted with Sierra Pacific Windows’ new bi-fold system that allows a wall of glass doors to completely open to the outside. In the Hirsch home, this connects the indoors with an outdoor fire pit and a heated dining area. They’ve sat by the fire pit and watched two bald eagles swoop into the pond, Chona says.

Within the great room is a variety of entertainment areas: a TV space, a game nook, a conversation pit by the fireplace, a large kitchen, an area with a 12-person expandable dining table and an office with panels that open to the great room. There’s a pantry off the kitchen as well as a covered barbecue area.

“The great room needed to be great,” Chona says. “For my husband’s 40th, we had 30 friends and it feels a lot more spacious than it is.”

A transitional space connects the great room to the entry and garage and includes a laundry room with a row of individual lockers for each family member ’s sports gear. There are high ceilings throughout the home with radiant heated floors to keep it cozy and warm.

The home fits 4 bedrooms and 4.5 baths into 3,192 square feet, plus a two-car garage. The upstairs interiors are hardy and durable, with barnwood and contemporary furniture. Small bedrooms were intentional, Chona adds, to draw family and guests out of their rooms and downstairs. Each room has its own bath, however. The children’s room sleeps seven with a wall of bunk beds, including one cubby bunk reached by a rope ladder, a response to the Hirsches’ request to be able to accommodate three families at once.

“There’s not a lot of sleeping that goes on there,” Chona jokes. In the center of the bedrooms is a kids’ TV area. Throughout the upstairs, there’s a delightful array of nooks and crannies, steps to guest rooms, popped-out window seats and built-in, custom furniture and cabinetry milled or welded in Mark Tanner Construction’s in-house design shop.

“It was all done with a budget in mind, as well as a desire for easy upkeep,” Tanner says, “but the Hirshes allowed us to come across with different ideas and push the creativity.”

Chona says the home was built for less than $400 a square foot because Tanner ’s firm was able to create elements such as a stainless steel sink and reclaimed wood doors. The economy also lowered the cost of building, and Tanner had a knack for the serendipitous discovery of low cost, quality materials.

“So far, it has completely lived up to all the expectations,” says Chona. “There’s nothing we would change.” TQ

See the slideshow of home images at http://tahoequarterly.com/?mh-article=perfect-blend

This article was first published in Tahoe Quarterly in Dec. 2012

First and foremost, Martis Camp is a place that inspires families to embrace the things that matter most. It’s a place where folks can escape, decompress and reconnect. It’s an extraordinary place that makes it easy to create lasting memories because it’s so perfectly conducive to meaningful experiences.

In short, Martis Camp is an easily accessible Tahoe retreat designed for families to pursue the things that truly define them. It’s not just the level of golf, the access to skiing, the quality of programming or the wide array of things to do. It’s that all those things are in this one breathtaking place, and that they’re offered so thoughtfully, making it easy to set aside the urgent and embrace the important.

To say it a little differently, Martis Camp is a place where the most important things always carry the day, because as we all know so well, the important things are not really things at all—they’re the people who love us.

So as we reflect on 2012 in the midst of this festive season, our hope is that you’ll spend a little time up here at Martis Camp, where it’s a little easier to remember that “peace and goodwill” are not holiday clichés but year-round realities.

This article appeared in Western Art & Architecture on Nov. 29, 2012

ENCOURAGING GREAT MOUNTAIN ARCHITECTURE WHILE PUSHING BEYOND TRADITIONAL TAHOE STYLE ISN’T IN THE DESIGN GUIDELINES AT MARTIS CAMP, THE EXCLUSIVE LUXURY COMMUNITY NEAR LAKE TAHOE, BUT IT SHOULD BE.

“Martis Camp doesn’t have many set guidelines and they never had any set style,” says architect Nick Sonder, who operates his practice in Truckee, California, and in 2007 designed the first spec home at the well-planned mountain community. “All the developer ever looked for was quality mountain architecture without the requirement of having to express the ‘old Tahoe-style’ and, as a result, we all got to explore totally different concepts and designs which made for a more unique and diverse architecture throughout the property.”

Sonder has since been the innovator of seven homes built at this low-density master-planned development comprised of 653 lots. But it was that first blueprint — a 3,200-square-foot home encompassing minimal impact to the environment — that clearly set the tone for what has become an eclectic mix of contemporary and traditional mountain residential designs. Now, six years after lot sales first commenced, a total of 51 architects are represented among the 67 completed homes, 100 under construction and close to 70 under review within the parameters of an existing Architectural Handbook emphasizing creativity compatible with a mountain environment. What is distinctly missing are any cookie-cutter design formulas for this select echelon of architects, most from Northern California but also throughout the Western United States, including such prominent firms as Locati Architects of Bozeman, Montana, and Marmol Radziner of Los Angeles.

“That freedom of architectural expression we’ve allowed stems from the fact that the San Francisco Bay Area is really on the cutting edge of everything and we knew we were going to appeal to that audience,” says Brian Hull, Director of Sales at Martis Camp. “So, our challenge was how could we encourage great mountain architecture while pushing outside the box of the traditional Tahoe style?”

With access to 2,177 acres of towering Ponderosa pines and sagebrush fields between North Lake Tahoe and Truckee in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, another developer may have grabbed hold of the expansive terrain in the Martis Valley, as an opportunity to manufacture rows of homes and move onto the next venture. Not the case with DMB/Highlands Group from Scottsdale, Arizona. With a portfolio of successful projects throughout the country, including Lahonton Golf Club just a stone’s throw away from Martis Camp, DMB/Highlands Group’s track record has demonstrated an unprecedented ability to create developments with a sense of community and environmental stewardship for current and future generations.

Building the family component has been core to Martis Camp’s vision and that thread permeates throughout the members. With premium features including a 50,000-square-foot Camp Lodge, Tom Fazio-designed golf course, 18-hole putting park, tennis pavilion, 26 miles of community trails for hiking, biking or cross-country skiing, 3-acre fishing lake, direct ski connection to Northstar California resort, fitness center, pools and a Family Barn that includes a bowling alley, movie theater, old-fashioned soda fountain, basketball court and amphitheater for concerts, it is evident that family camp playgrounds have been redefined. At this ultra-luxe neighborhood, there is no room for boredom.

By attempting to lure multi-generational families, the homesites at Martis Camp provide plenty of space to grow with cabin lots just under .5 acre or estate lots of 1 to 2.5 acres. With the architectural marvels to occupy these spaces being just as integral to the character of Martis Camp as all the enticing amenities, according to Sonder, many owners are thinking outside the box. “I’ve got clients that are very savvy about doing things green, including a house that’s 8,600 square feet and another that’s 5,300 square feet and they’re both off-grid homes with ground-source heat pumps and integrated solar voltaics.”

On pace of selling five or six homesites every month (more than 400 have been sold), Martis Camp might be the hottest real estate venture in the country. With a flurry of construction now underway in a community that personifies a living classroom for aspiring architects, Greg Faulkner, an architect with offices in Truckee and Berkeley, California, echoes the sentiments of his counterparts: “The cool thing about the developers is that they made it more about the design and not the guidelines.”

Faulkner has taken full advantage. Having been on the forefront of some cutting-edge contributions at Martis Camp, he hit the jackpot with his first entry when a home he designed for a Los Angeles client earned the highest award from the Central (California) Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Built on a parcel that adjoins forest service wildlands and requires wildfire protection, Faulkner incorporated a restrained palette of board-formed concrete, rusting Corten steel, reclaimed redwood and large expanses of glass allowing the pavilionlike house to fit into the alpine setting.

Growing up in the Midwest visiting U.S. Steel with his grandfather, Faulkner was impressed by the nature of materials and how they were made. Along the way, trips to his grandmother’s Kentucky farm instilled an appreciation for how structures were built into the natural landscape. Now, after 20 years of practicing his craft and three completed homes at Martis Camp, Faulkner is keeping a close eye on construction of one of his most exciting projects yet.

Using materials such as natural and charred cedar, plus low-infiltration thermally broken window and door systems, Faulkner says, “This house considers continuity and transparency in a way that creates a field organization of space with a reciprocal relationship to the landscape. Mirrored U-shaped edges make two distinct, yet linked territories. One faces the street and is natural with 30-inch-plus diameter Sugar and Jeffrey Pine trees. The other is private, domesticated with courtyard walls and a habitable landscape and oriented to the south sun with views of the backside ski runs at Northstar. The two territories are bridged and connected by full-height glass screens.”

By contrast, the team at MWA, Inc., also based in Truckee, has demonstrated its own diverse styles, having drafted 18 homes (nine built, six under construction and three in design) at Martis Camp, including traditional Tahoe style, Craftsman-modern combo or European Alps style.

“The design review has been remarkably fun and simple,” says Kristi Thompson, one of MWA’s principal architects. “There are some rules, like not being able to go over the large setbacks, but the end result is (that) once your home gets built out, you’ll see quite a bit of space, typically 100 to 150 feet, between the next home, as opposed to most developments where it’s home after home after home. As a result, our clients get an opportunity to express their individuality and I think that’s important at this economic level of clientele.”

With many buyers purchasing legacy homes for their children and children’s children to inherit, they are encouraged to consider sustainable approaches to maintain the operational costs and conform to the same LEED certification all of Martis Camp’s community buildings have.

“We can’t do anything about taxes but utilities and long-term maintenance, we can,” Thompson says. “A home we have under construction is a mix of modern, mountain and rustic where the owners desired a low-impact, low-maintenance design. Here, we utilized solar PV panels to offset some of the home’s electricity use, solar thermal panels to heat their water and ground-source heat pumps to draw heat out of the earth. They also used a 16-inch-thick roof cavity to double the heat retention and the casita has a green living roof to further help insulate the building and reduce erosion on the property.”

Considering the enticement to go against the grain of traditional mountain design, there are still concerns about how far to stretch that innovation. Regarding the more contemporary style, for example, a longtime San Francisco Bay Area residential architect, John Stewart of Stewart Associates, expressed trepidation with one of the more uncharacteristic mountain designs apparent at some of the Martis Camp homes. “Personally, I would have stayed away from any flat roofs. After all, it is still snow country and, typically, pitched roofs are necessary for the snow to slide off instead of it bearing on top for days or months.”

Regardless of the type of dwelling or season befitting a buyer’s lifestyle, the majority of tenants retreat to their residence as a second-home getaway. However, after their last child leaves for college next year, John Gill and his wife, from San Ramon, California, will join the other three current full-time Martis Camp residents by occupying the 7,300-square-foot home they just started breaking in. As a symbolic gesture and to instill a slice of the true essence of Martis Camp for everyone they share their home with, the Gills already named it “Selah,” a Hebrew word that essentially means to pause and ponder.

READ THE ARTICLE ON WESTERN ART & ARCHITECTURE HERE >>

Contemporary designs are gaining ground in several Tahoe locales, from Incline Village to Alpine Meadows, from Tahoe Donner to Tahoe City, but they are most abundant in Martis Camp, the new gated community near Truckee. Forty to 50 percent of the more than 100 homes under construction or finished at Martis Camp speak the visual language of the early 20th century International Style: flat or low-sloping roofs, short or no overhanging eaves, open floor plans, and long spans of steel. Exterior ornament has disappeared, and plate-glass walls reveal wide vistas. Lightweight, steel-supported roofs seem more related to sky than earth.

Inside, ambience is achieved through the infiltration of light and the arrangements of space and materials, rather than with the applied ornament of wainscoting and trim.

“In our area there has been a preconception that peaked roofs and multiple layers of details were requirements of mountain architecture,” says architect Clare Walton of Walton Architecture and Engineering in Tahoe City. “Recently we have seen success in utilizing clean lines, especially in the roofscapes.”

But the boxy design doesn’t tempt everyone. A few Tahoe architects contend that for all of its spare beauty, modernism means trouble. “The overhangs of traditional architecture are important, not only for the snow and rain but also for the sun exposure and heat efficiency,” says architect Sherry Guzzi of Sherry Guzzi Architect in Tahoe City. A great house will work well with the environment and also respond to the needs of the occupants, she says.

Contractor Bruce Olson concurs. Most of his luxury homes have blended the pitch-roofed Old Tahoe vernacular with the muscular traditions of architecture in Norway and Sweden, although he also has built modernist-style homes.

“A traditional Tahoe home will incorporate wood, stone and warmer colors,” Olson says. “Some of the more contemporary homes are letting the outside in with glass, but there’s not a lot of wood. Let’s say you’ve been outside all day in the elements, and you come home and your home is all white and spotless clean. To me, that feels cold.”

A home needs to reflect a sense of place, as well, they say. “The (modernist) house could be in Malibu, Spain … anywhere,” Olson says. “It doesn’t define Tahoe. With true Old Tahoe architecture, you’ll have a hard time saying what year it was built. It’s timeless. It has always been more of a romantic style capturing the real feel of the Earth.”

This article ran in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday, November 4, 2012.

A number of to-die-for luxury homes naturally attract attention on the initial drive through the community. But what stands out even more on this gorgeous late summer day in Truckee is the number of family-friendly amenities that keep appearing on the gradual climb toward the Tom Fazio-designed golf course.

Make no mistake, Fazio created quite the golf cathedral amid this magnificent, high Sierra mountain landscape. But down at the sales office, what’s driving surprisingly brisk sales of lots and homes is the immense amenities that can keep a family busy and hanging out together from sun up to sun down in the summer months.

“Golf is the third or fourth reason that people want to buy at Martis Camp,” explains sales executive Jeff Hull.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE AT THE EXAMINER »

Since the late 1880‘s (when Robert Watson opened Tahoe Tavern) Bay Area residents have been consistently drawn to the year-round wonders of the High Sierra—creating a rich history of family retreats and vacation legacies. The most basic reasons for Tahoe’s unwavering pull are obvious: unrivaled natural beauty, sense of escape, and ease of access.

With Tahoe as the answer to the basic destination question, families face a second layer of challenges up here: Where can we find privacy without sacrificing fun things to do? Where can we find four-season activities in one location? Where will our kids be just as happy as we are? Where can we enjoy skiing and golf? Can we truly find convenience without crowds? And—perhaps most importantly—can we consistently have experiences that will define our family, be passed down through the generations?

For all of its remarkable and enduring traits, Tahoe has historically demanded a trade-off for families asking these kinds of questions. Historically, choices had to be made between convenience and privacy, summer and winter, golf and skiing, ease of access and ease of use and so on.

While much of the country scratches its head at Martis Camp’s unprecedented success, families with a lifelong love of Tahoe instantly understand its magic. In a word, Martis Camp is Tahoe’s first private community that demands no trade-off’s….a place that affords the best of all worlds.

Nowhere else in Tahoe can families have private ski access, Fazio golf, virtually endless family recreation, over 20 miles of trails, forests, creeks and inspiring landscape —all inside the gates of 2,100-pristine acres. Nowhere else are all the wonders of Tahoe are found in one quintessential community.

In a word, Martis Camp allows allows families to have their cake and eat it too—for the first time in 120 years. That’s why its success is historical and that’s why every day, more and more families are rewriting their own history in a Tahoe community that’s as fun as it is scarce—Martis Camp.

Excellence in Education has partnered with the Tahoe Sierra Board of Realtors for this event that showcases a group of distinct homes. Discover many of the latest trends and creative ideas in luxury home building, as envisioned by a handful of the region’s premier architects, builders, designers and landscapers.

Read the full story here on the Sierra Sun’s website >>

Let’s be honest—there are a few rumors floating around about Folk School here at Martis Camp. Once and for all we are going to tell you how it really is here in the Art Loft!

Rumor #1: You have to be an artist already… NOT!

Most Folk School classes are small and you will get tons of personal attention from the instructor, no matter how much experience you do or don’t have. Sign up for Pottery with veteran Family Barn Ambassador Sean Bunnell–get your hands dirty and make something beautiful–yes, YOU! (Pottery on Saturday and Sunday, July 21st & 22nd)

Rumor #2: If it happens in the Art Loft, its only for kids… NOT!

The Art Loft is for everyone at all times. Granted, it’s very popular with the younger set; however, it is especially nice for grown-ups during Folk School. You get to learn a new skill or polish an old one under the watchful eye of an expert. It’s relaxing, rejuvenating, and gets the creative juices flowing.  Get in the groove with Erik Rinkleff during Woodcarving 101 and create an original carving under Erik’s experienced eye on Saturday and Sunday, July 28th and 29th. (Yes, he IS the one who carved our totem pole!)

Rumor #3: You CAN’T take your family with you… NOT!

The whole “fam” may not be appropriate for all Folk School classes, however, join us in the Art Loft on any Saturday from July 28th through September 2nd for our Artist in Residence program. Anke Hass and Carole Sesko will walk you through any number of projects. No reservations necessary AND it’s complimentary! Talk about the perfect outing for the entire clan! (Classes begin at noon.)

Rumor #4: You HAVE to take your family with you… NOT!

A Folk School class is an opportunity to learn a traditional craft or practice a technique that you enjoy. It is a time to stop, take a breath, and put your mind in a different place for a couple hours or days. A great way to get there this summer is to look to our Wellness Class. Spend a weekend or a day practicing yoga or tai-chi. Next add inspiring teachings on how to enhance your health and life. Wrap up each day with a fabulous lunch prepared with health-optimizing principles in mind. Now, take your revitalized self back to that family with a huge grin on your face! (Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday, August 24th – 26th.)

Check the online calendar for a full list of Martis Camp Folk School classes here >>

HELP US MAKE FOLK SCHOOL EXACTLY WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE IT TO BE.  TAKE OUR TWO-QUESTION SURVEY AND ENJOY A FOLK SCHOOL CLASS WITH A FRIEND!

1. Have you ever taken a Folk School Class?  Which one?
2. What kind of Folk School Class would you like to take?

Send your responses to Folk School Director Krista Davis and take a friend to Folk School on us—aka two for the price of one!

THE FINE PRINT:
Responses must be received no later than August 31st, 2012. Don’t forget to include your name/contact info in your communication. If you would like to sign up for any of the classes mentioned above, just contact Folk School Director Krista!

Krista Davis
Folk School Director
(530) 550-6070
Cell: (530) 386-8121
kristad@martiscamp.com
Martis Camp
7901 Fleur du Lac Drive
Truckee, CA 96161