Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the final site plan for the senior-focused living community that will allow older citizens to age in place independently while also enjoying being a member of a community.

"We're delighted. We've been working on this for such a long time, and we're really thrilled to be able to move forward now," said co-founder Connie Brennan , who lives down Buck Creek Lane , the same road of the cohousing site.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control defines aging in place as the ability to live in one's home or community safely, independently and comfortably, regardless of age, income or ability level.

Brennan, a former Nelson County supervisor, started thinking about the project 10 years ago. It wasn't until about two years ago when she along with her husband, John Hasselbart, and friend Gordon Walker and his wife, Dottie, actually started making the dream come to fruition.

"We hope to be a model for how other communities might form and maybe make some changes in the zoning ordinances. We're looking to help other people in the community age in place," Brennan said.

Nestled on 50 acres of land in on Buck Creek Lane , Buck Creek Village will provide lots for 10 houses, which all must be purchased individually, along with a common house. Brennan said they already have nine of the 10 lots already accounted for, and those nine households already are planning and designing the construction of their homes.

"We're thrilled. People are beginning to realize that they're going to have to make plans for how they want to age and how they want to live for the next phase of their lives," Brennan said.

Buck Creek Village will become one of three cohousing projects with a focus on the elderly in Virginia that's either forming or already is established, according to the Cohousing Association of the United States' directory. The Faber cohousing site project is the only of its kind in Nelson County .

"Our community is relatively unique. There aren't very many rural cohousing development communities. We're a group of folks that love Nelson County and love the country, so we're really very excited," Brennan said.

Before construction on the village can begin, Brennan said they still need to meet some conditions required from different agencies, such as the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Department of Transportation .

"We're hoping to have it all done within a month," she said.

Brennan said they hope to start working on the road around the community in January, and members should be able to start building their homes in the fall of 2018.