Happy ThanksGrowing!

The Grow Community team would like to extend holiday gratitude to our extended family of residents, our construction crew, and our friends and neighbors of today and tomorrow.

We say “ThanksGrowing” because that’s exactly what 2014 has meant for us:

– Our first phase, the Village, has grown into a close-knit neighborhood with completion and occupancy of the Cooper multi-family buildings;

– Our famous P-patch gardens and “edible landscaping” grew like gangbusters all year, providing a bounty of healthy produce for neighbors and friends. Our green thumbs even got a thumbs-up from the BioRegional sustainability blog.

– Acclaim for our One Planet Community continued to grow, with recognition for excellence by the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild and Solar Builder magazine.

– And of course, our larger development is seeing quite a growth spurt with the groundbreaking of our next two neighborhoods, the Grove and the Park. Look for more exciting news and opportunities on that front throughout the coming months.

Taken altogether that’s quite a bounteous year, and we are so very grateful for this and more. So from all of us to all of you, we say:

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November Construction update

You may have noticed: it’s autumn. Lots of wind and rain, and with them a bit slower progress on the Grow phase 2 worksite.

Not to worry, as we’ve built the challenges of the season into our schedule. And we’ve made good progress getting the site prepped, stockpiling dirt for later use and digging foundations for the Salal and Juniper buildings.

Concrete forms for the underground garage will arrive onsite in the next few days, and the footings and foundation walls will begin to take shape. Reinforcing steel will be delivered in batches to allow continuous concrete “pours.” As the forms march around the garage perimeter, the concrete will cure in advance of construction of the garage roof.

You’ll see a rhythm as the work progresses, and so it will go for the next several months – wind and rain no deterrent.

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Grow gets Slammed — but it’s cool!

gbs-10x10x10-logo-300x212Ten projects. Ten slides. Ten minutes.

And one goal: to honor the very best in sustainable construction — like Grow Community.

We’re pleased to say that Grow is one of 10 projects asked to present at this year’s prestigious “Green Building Slam” at the University of Washington. Sponsored by the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild, the rapid-fire event showcases unique projects and new approaches to environmentally conscious construction.

Featured speaker will be Kathleen O’Brien, a nationally recognized leader in the field of sustainability as a writer, educator, strategic planner and project consultant for nearly 30 years.

The Green Building Slam event will be held from 5-10 p.m. Nov. 15 at UW’s Kane Hall, with presentations beginning at 6:30. Networking and goodies throughout.

We’re honored to be part this great event. We’ll gladly take the Slam!

More information here