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Award-winning timber frame chalets are individually designed and carved atop nature’s beautiful mountain landscape.

reclaimed barn wood in chalet
Development Process

Using 150-Year Reclaimed Barn Wood for Furniture

As the developer of Lofty Mountain Grandeur Chalets it has been my passion to source 100 to 150 year old barn wood. The process is long and requires a lot of hard work with intense skilled labor. However, it is worth it when you can save a piece of wood or timber that was part of a structure which was used in many different applications, and then present it to an owner at Lofty Mountain and show them the different grains, species and character that they have an option to choose from. There chalet now becomes filled with many story lines. We give you the option to use it with cabinets, stairs, floors, furniture, walls and ceilings. It is such a privilege to take a perspective client into one of our already sold homes and show them a stair system that was made out of reclaimed wood from the Curtis wright World War II air plane factory or cabinets made from a local barn that was built 100 years ago. These are value added features that excite our homeowners as much as me.

Mike incorvaia
Lofty Mountain Developer

Ellicottville Chalet Homes
In The News

Ellicottville Times: Lofty Mountain Homes Phase 2 Underway

Mike Incorvaia remembers hiking Bailey Mountain in East Otto, N.Y., with his dad and uncle when he was a teen. It was an inspirational place at one of the highest points (1,800 feet above sea level) in Cattaraugus County. From certain spots on certain days, you can even see Lake Erie.

So, it’s no surprise that as soon as he got the chance as an adult, he and his partner in the project, Donald Matre, bought 300 acres on the mountain. After several years of careful thought and research, the partners decided to develop it. But it wouldn’t be just any development. It would be geared toward families who wanted to live and/or vacation in a secluded, peaceful, natural setting with easy access to Ellicottville, Holiday Valley, HoliMont, Griffis Sculpture Park, state parks and all the other attractions the area has to offer all year round.

To that end, Incorvaia has created a thoughtfully designed housing development, which will eventually include 32 chalet-style homes, with 3,000 square feet or more, on 5 acres each with plenty of surrounding land available for hiking, mountain biking, fishing, picnicking and more.

The development is called Lofty Mountain Grandeur, a name inspired by the hymn “How Great Thou Art.”It is just a nine-minute drive to Ellicottville, a one-hour trip to Buffalo, 2.5 hours to Toronto and zero hours to total calm and relaxation amid nature’s beauty.

Phase 1 of the project – the Bailey Hills section – began in 2009 when few were building new homes because of the recession. Undaunted, Incorvaia broke ground, believing that his special place should be shared and that once people saw the area, they would fall in love with it, too.

Bailey Hills features 13 lots (only one is still available) and 12 beautifully crafted homes with astounding views. With pricing starting at $399,000, homes feature first floor great rooms with vaulted ceilings, pegged timber beams, 6-inch wide white oak plank floors with radiant heat throughout, plus two first floor bedrooms and two baths. On the second floor is a loft overlooking the great room, along with another bedroom and bath. Basements have room for two additional bedrooms and two baths.

Read More “First Foundation Dug at Rainbow Ridge, East Otto”
By Jann Wiswall

Ellicottville Lofty Phase 2 Starts
In The News

Buffalo Business First: Round 2 begins for Lofty Mountain

When Michael Incorvaia and Don Matre envisioned the Lofty Mountain Grandeur, just outside Ellicottville, they didn’t know what to expect.

The subdivision, with a picturesque setting some 2,000 feet above sea level and a postcard-like view of Cattaraugus County in the town of East Otto, was launched when the economy “tanked,” they said.

The two men, who also own Pallet Services Co., figured it would take five years to … Read More

James Fink
Business First

Ellicottville The Villager Lofty Homes
In The News

Architectural Digest of Ellicottville: Lofty Mountain Grandeur “Building a Dream for Families”

Imagine a father and son standing on a wintry hillside more than thirty years ago. They watch in silence as a group of deer pass through the forest not more than fifteen yards from them, then travel down the hillside, traverse a stream, clamber up the opposite hillside, and disappear into the forest. The man and boy remain silent as they walk through stands of tall, green pine trees to return to their car. The boy in the story is Mike Incrovaia and that memory is from just one of the many trips Mike and his family made to the hilltop just outside of Ellicottville. Growing up, Mike’s dream was to spend as much time as he could with his family in the same pristine area; enjoying the forest, streams, wildlife, and views. Now he is creating a new dream of building houses that will allow the owners to create the same kind of connection to the land as organic as his own.

Mike feels genuinely blessed that he now owns the area that formed so many of his boyhood memories. But rather than fencing off the property and building himself a starter castle as a monument to his success; he has chosen to share this special place with others. He is subdividing the land into five acre parcels and building only single home on each lot. The passion Mike feels for the area is evident in the attention to detail he is giving to every aspect of the development. He used a GPS unit to lay out the lot lines and nature trails connecting them. Just steps from each home the nature trails connect to fishing ponds and shelters built specifically for family picnics. Mike even laid out the lots himself, personally choosing which trees should be cleared for the building pad, and to expose the views. Of the few Pole Pine and Locust trees cleared, they were used to create the rough hewed fence that borders the site.

Story and Photos By John Thomas
See the full article (PDF).

Ellicottville Chalet Development
In The News

Business First “Lofty Concept: Upscale residential development that offers panoramic views of Catt. County”

It doesn’t take long to figure out that Lofty Mountain Grandeur is not your garden-variety development.
The first sign could be the steep stone and dirt road that gently snakes its way off Route 219 in East Otto and up Bailey Hills Road. Yet it is less than three miles off Route 219.

Or it could be that the upscale residential development sits some 2,000 feet above sea level and offers panoramic views of Cattaraugus County, including neighboring Griffis Sculpture Park.

Read more: Lofty concept | Business First

Business First – by James Fink
Friday, October 29, 2010