My husband and I moved to Nolensville from Lenox Village (South Nashville) in 2012. Our son was starting Kindergarten, and we were fortunate enough to snag the last new build in Ballenger Farms for what now seems to be an unbelievable price. We lived in that sweet home before moving to Summerlyn.
For those considering the Ballenger Farms subdivision, I’ve used our experience as previous neighbors and feedback from friends who still call the neighborhood home to compile a list of things you need to know before buying in Ballenger Farms.
The Location
FACT ONE: There are three entrances to Ballenger Farms: two that connect to Creekside and one that connects to Ballenger Drive.
The western Creekside entrance connects to backroads that lead to the rec center, post office, library, the Nolensville Town Center plaza, and more. You can take this route to make it to most things Nolo and completely bypass busy Nolensville Road. The Cowan Drive entrance allows residents to take backroads to connect to Kidd Road, which leads to I-24 via Burkit Road. The Ballenger Farms entrance connects to Rocky Fork via Newsome Lane. This entrance provides easy access to Gregory Park, the trail system, and Nolensville Elementary School.
The neighborhood’s central location within Nolensville was one of the hardest things to give up when we moved to Summerlyn. I found myself, more often than not, riding my bicycle to run errands which is a lifestyle benefit I fully embraced. (I also miss the gorgeous treelined streets).
FACT TWO: On a similar note, if you bike across Rocky Fork Road, you can connect to the trail system that leads to Mill Creek Middle School and Nolensville High School. Currently, Ballenger Farms is zoned for MCMS, NHS, and Nolensville Elementary. I would imagine that being consistently zoned to Nolensville Elementary is almost a certainty for Ballenger residents, but the central location also means you might be rezoned to another middle school or high school in the future.
FACT THREE: Ballenger Drive is lined by a sidewalk that connects to a walking path leading to Nolensville Elementary School. While the Sherwood Greens neighborhood is also close to Nolensville Elementary, the fact that there are no roads to cross gives Ballenger Farms a slight advantage in terms of convenience to Nolensville Elementary.
The Ballenger Farms Amenities
FACT FOUR: Ballenger Farms doesn’t have traditional neighborhood amenities. It does, however, have a beautiful walking trail that runs between Pomegranate Place and Coriander Court. The HOA also owns three open spaces, including the large, park-like space adjacent to Peppermint Lane, the small open lot near the corner of Looking Glass Lane and Spruce Springs Court, and the even smaller lot near Dandelion Court and Creekside. The HOA has added picnic tables to all areas for residents to enjoy.
FACT FIVE: The flip side of having no amenities is that Ballenger Farms residents enjoy lower-than-average HOA dues and fewer restrictions.
FACT SIX: The residents of Ballenger Farms do an excellent job of creating fun. They traditionally hire an ice cream truck for the kids on the last day of school, host seasonal events like Easter Egg hunts, and crush the holidays!
Due to the density of the neighborhood and the number of children, Halloween is widely celebrated and widely wild. When we lived in Ballenger, we would greet over one hundred children on Halloween night. Also, Ballenger goes all out for Christmas. The Town of Nolensville hosts an annual Christmas light competition, and Ballenger has won its fair share of awards. As a side note, this may not be the best neighborhood for those who want to hole up during the Fourth of July, as the streets are usually fair game for fireworks in all directions.
The Builder
FACT SEVEN: Ballenger Farms was built by Beazer homes in multiple phases. Homes toward the front of the neighborhood were built primarily around 2004-2005, while homes near the back were built around 2010-2012. All of the homes have two-car garages and are mostly a mix of brick and vinyl siding though there are a few all-brick homes in Ballenger.
FACT EIGHT: While Ballenger Farms’ central location is an asset, one downside to being so connected is cut through speeding. The speeding issues primarily occur on Creekside and Ballenger Drive as they are both long, straight roadways that run from the front to the back of the neighborhood.
The speeding and potentially associated safety issues are amplified by narrow roads. I can’t remember exactly why this happened, but I know there was some controversy surrounding the decision to allow Ballenger Farms to have so many homes with such narrow roadways. This issue is compounded by the fact that Ballenger has excessive street parking (two car garages) and smaller backyards that push kids to play in the streets.
The Land
FACT NINE: The speeding issues really could have been worse. “Save Creekside” stopped Ballenger Farms from having a fourth neighborhood entrance connecting Ballenger Farms to Lochridge.
Neighbors banned together to successfully petition the town to stop the connection which would have turned Ballenger into a cut-through neighborhood for those traveling to and from Rutherford County.
FACT TEN: While the connection to Burberry Glen was eliminated, that didn’t stop the developer from removing the beautiful trees that once provided privacy between the two neighborhoods. On a similar note, some of the current treelined lots (looking at you Looking Glass Lane) are not guaranteed to remain that way. When buying in Ballenger Farms, it’s wise to research your lot and any future development.