CALEDONIA -- For years, Jerry Good tried to avoid selling his 274-acre farm to developers.

He hoped to preserve it through government programs. Now, the land at 100th Street SE and Kraft Avenue soon may become a housing development.

Med-O-Bloom LLC has presented plans that include single-family homes, condominiums, a YMCA and a high school. Good sold the land to the limited-liability corporation about a year ago.

"I've been on this farm for 52 years," said Good, who started working for former Michigan Farm Bureau president Elton Smith when he was 13. After college, he became a partner in the operation and then full owner after Smith died. Good still lives on the property and owns about 6 acres of the original farm.

"Ten years ago, we tried to preserve the farm through the county and the federal and state programs, but we were told it was too close to development and too close to sewer and water, which is only a quarter mile away," Good said.

In addition to encroaching development, he blamed increased traffic for the reason to sell.

"We had several accidents with our farm equipment on the roads out here because of all the traffic. It just got harder and harder to move our equipment and dispose of waste.

"We had kids running through our crop fields and finally had to fence it all in to keep people out."

His son, Jim, said their facilities needed updating. "We looked at rebuilding the dairy operation here, but it takes at least 15 to 20 years to recoup the investment. We thought Caledonia would not be the place for 1,000 head of cattle in 2020."

Bill Hirsch, a farmland preservationist and dairy farmer in Gaines Township, sees a lot wrong with the project.

"This is an iconic farm that needs to be preserved. ... Everyone in Michigan knows this farm."

In 2003, when Good first considered selling the farm, Hirsch lobbied the township and the county for money to preserve it. The township put $40,000 toward buying the development rights, but efforts were thwarted when the county offered no matching funds.

"With a budget of $372 million a year, Kent County needs to find some money to preserve this farmland," Hirsch said.

Caledonia Community Schools Superintendent Jerry Phillips sees the project as essential for the district's growth. "This is a key piece of land for us. We're a growing district and it is right next to our campus."

Ron Van Singel, of Merestone Group engineering company, presented the plan to the Planning Commission last week.

He called the development a "community concept" -- 55 single-family homes, 180 condos and 40 to 50 acres to be sold to the Cal-Plex Youth Sports Association for a park and sports complex.