History of the Property
The property on W. Nevada Street where Verde Village will be built
was purchased by Greg Williams’ great-grandfather and grandfather
in 1906. It was used in the family business, Ashland Greenhouses,
until the business was sold in January 2007. The family business, Ashland
Greenhouses, consisted of several greenhouses that grew vegetables
and herbaceous annuals and perennials. Because of the long family ties
to the land, Greg wanted to do something with the land that would honor
his family heritage.
The land that Ashland Greenhouse has been on is zoned residential;
however, the business was able to continue as a grandfathered non-conforming
use. This worked well until the City of Ashland opened a very popular
dog park next to Ashland Greenhouses. 
The Dog Park bisected the business,
making running the business more difficult. What had been a rural location
was now surrounded by residential homes and had a well-used road going
through the middle of the business property. This created a difficult
environment for Ashland Greenhouses. Greg and
Valri decided that they had to move the business.
Closing the business was something they wanted to avoid, since it provided jobs for long-time employees and a service for the community. After talking to their children and determining that they did not want to work in the family business, Greg and Valri decided it was time to find the person who would run the business for the next generation. The perfect buyer and a new location were found. The business was sold in January 2007 and moved from the old location to the new location, 2 miles away, over the course of two years. Greg and Valri have been very involved in the transition, helping the new owner develop a knowledge of the business.
Once the future of Ashland Greenhouses was settled, Greg and Valri turned their attention to the best way to develop this property that has been in the family for over 100 years. They hired a sustainable planner, Alex Forrester of Forrester and Forrester; landscape architect Kerry KenCairn, ASLA, of KenCairn Landscape Architecture; Jim Pearson, EIT, of Thornton Engineering; and biologist Scott English, wetlands biologist, of Northwest Biological Consulting. A charette was organized on July 12, 2005 with the full team. At the charette, Greg and Valri shared their goals and ideas for the land. The professionals used their skills in conjunction with Greg and Valri's stated goals and came up with a plan for the development.
In January of 2009 the land was sold to WILMA LLC, the company that will build the Verde Village development.
WILMA LLC is owned by Greg and Valri Williams, John and Marilyn Zupan, and Leo and Veda Zupan, all long time residents of the area.
Find out more about the people who are bringing Verde Village into being on the Project Team page.