Equestrian Estates is a 94.22-acre residential development, developed in four phases with 115 single family residential home sites. All land development was completed in the Fall of 2012. Stephen Gunn overcame substantial land development obstacles and achieved significant cost savings for Haverford Homes by implementing the following procedures:

• Gunn inherited a development which required an additional $1.2 million in funding to correct prior development errors and cost overruns.
• He inherited a development under county citation to remove 116,000 cu. yds. of non-usable fill materials which were stockpiled in 5 locations. He solved this problem by revising the grading plan. His team developed multiple lot extensions and created landscape beauty berms which resulted in all 116,000 cu. yds. being used on site for a cost savings of $1.74 million for the owner.  
• The final grading plan required structural fill placement to close 5 sediment traps and complete 13 building pads, which required 35,000 cu. yds. of structural fill material. Stephen Gunn revised the site plan to clear additional acreage and mined the required structural fill materials on site. The savings for Haverford Homes was $350,000.
• Gunn inherited existing site development contracts that exceeded development budgets. These contracts did not conform to the approved county plans and specifications. The contractors were replaced. The new contractors completed the land development in compliance with approved plans and specifications.  
• He completely redesigned the 1 mile long hiker/biker and trail system for Equestrian Estates. The original plan was designed with 90% of the trail system located in the flood plain and required 5 structural bridges for active stream crossings. He directed two additional Site Plan revisions and generated $270,000 in cost reductions for Haverford Homes.

Stephen Gunn’s vision and perseverance won the 2010 Land Development Environmental Award from the Maryland National Capital Building Industry Association.

Equestrian Estates Recreational and Exercise Trail