The creek beds are overgrown with watercress, and the hilltop vistas are engulfed in trees so thick you can't turn around in some places.

But there is a peaceful beauty in this 43-acre stretch of land straddling the Troutville-Botetourt County line that makes you forget Interstate 81 and U.S. 11 are just a stone's throw away.

Ed Tam thinks it would be a good place to live.

"It's a beautiful piece of land," Tam said. "It's like being in the middle of the mountains in town. It's unbelievable."

If all goes as planned, Tam will soon develop the site to build 192 apartments and a town home community with a luxury exercise facility. The development, named Buffalo Spring after a spring and creek that runs through the property, will include a 12-acre nature preserve with walking and equine trails, a horse barn and a chipping green.

The project, with two-bedroom apartments renting for about $900 a month, would house enough people to double the population of Troutville. The Troutville Town Council has embraced the project. It recently approved Tam's request to rezone about half of the property from agricultural to multifamily residential.

William Rader, the town's mayor, said the town council doesn't think the development will dramatically affect the look of the town because Tam told him it will be hidden by tree cover.

"He said he's going to leave the front facing Route 11 as it is," Rader said.

Tam plans to build three-story-high buildings and preserve as many trees and natural contours of the land as possible.

Botetourt County officials, however, have some concerns about the impact the project will have on emergency services, schools and traffic along U.S. 11. Erosion and sediment control are other concerns.

The site is on steep terrain about a mile and a half north of where heavy truck traffic exits Interstate 81 to access several truck stops.

"It seems pretty aggressive to me to build that number of units in that location," said Botetourt County Administrator Jerry Burgess.

"I've looked at the property and it's kind of hard to envision that going up on that hillside."

Tam said the project will take eight to 10 years to complete, so the impact on roads and schools, and even water and sewer, would gradually increase over time.

"The county's going to be just fine," he said.

Tam will soon submit more detailed plans of the project to the town and county for approval before construction can begin. He said those plans will adequately address roads, unit sizes, erosion and sediment control, traffic concerns, and water and sewer lines.

Burgess said if that's the case, Tam can move forward.

"The bottom line is he's got to meet the standards."

Tam, 52, has built custom single-family homes in the county in the past. But with this new development, he said he wants to create a business that he can operate until he retires.

"There's not another apartment complex like it that I'm aware of," he said.

"Every building ... is on the nature preserve. In addition to that, there's the wilderness lodge, which is the leasing and management office. It's a pine log structure with a large community room and huge stone fireplace."

Tam said the nature trails and a fitness center, along with the scenic mountain views, will be a big selling point to renters in the Troutville and Roanoke areas.

In recent years, Botetourt County has become popular among developers building high-end, single-family homes on large lots in subdivisions such as Ashley Plantation.

In light of that, Burgess wonders if Tam's project is a viable one.

"If he has to get financing he's going to have to convince somebody that there's a market for this," Burgess said.