Grow featured in NW design magazine

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screen-shot-2015-04-08-at-10-03-30-amGrow Community and first-phase architect Jonathan Davis are featured in the new edition of Gray magazine.

In an article titled “Community Builders,” the magazine touts Grow for fostering “next-level neighborliness” through innovative layout and design.

It all starts with an unsung organizing element: the meandering path that winds around through the site, promoting serendipitous meetings between neighbors as they move about among Grow’s “micro-hoods” and shared gardens.

“The idea is that coming and going from your house, you’ll bump into a neighbor sitting on the porch or out front gardening, and you’ll build personal relationships,” Davis says. “We oriented things to encourage interaction between residents.”

Gray bills itself “The Design Magazine for the Pacific Northwest.” The May 2015 edition is on finer newsstands now, or you can find the story at www.graymag.com page 40.

March Construction Update: Garage is on good footing(s)

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Work on Grow Community’s Phase 2 underground parking garage continues apace. Crews are now installing rebar and cables for the post tension slab for the Salal building, forming up walls and columns for the garage of the Elan townhomes, and crafting footings for the Juniper.  In utility news, a water line that will serve the new buildings is being routed up from the local main. It looks like foul weather is (mostly) behind us, so be sure to watch the dramatic progress each time you go past the work site.

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Grow now the standard lifestyle of the future

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Grow Community as the new standard for future living? You bet.

Grow’s award-winning, net-zero neighborhood will be showcased at Living Future 2015, the annual conference of the International Living Future Institute.

logoJonathan Davis, architect for Grow’s first phase, the Village, and project manager Greg Lotakis will be featured speakers at the conference, which runs April 1-3 at the Sheraton in Seattle.

Their presentation is titled “A Built Environment Sets the Stage for Creation of Community.”

“Creating a (successful) community is not a certainty — the ultimate success of it depends on the people who choose to live there,” conference organizers say. “How do you create this place where people WANT to live? Learn how the design of the net-zero energy Grow Community on Bainbridge Island creates the basis for a shared sense of purpose, brings residents together toward common lifestyle goals and creates a strong sense of place and connection within a neighborhood.”

Living Future is a forum for leading minds in the green building movement seeking solutions to the most daunting global issues of our time. Out-of-the-ordinary learning and networking formats provide innovative design strategies, cutting-edge technical information and the inspiration needed to achieve significant progress toward a truly Living Future.

The Grow Community presentation runs 3:15-4:45 p.m. April 2.
Click here for more details

Grow presented at Living Future 2015 unConference

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logoThe International Living Future Institute is hosting its ninth annual unConference, Living Future 2015, on April 1-3, 2015 at the Sheraton Seattle in downtown Seattle, Washington. Living Future is the forum for leading minds in the green building movement seeking solutions to the most daunting global issues of our time. Out-of-the-ordinary learning and networking formats provide innovative design strategies, cutting-edge technical information and the inspiration needed to achieve significant progress toward a truly Living Future.

DON’T MISS: Grow Community, A Built Environment Sets the Stage for Creation of Community
Thursday, April 2 • 3:15pm – 4:45pm

Click here to REGISTER

Creating a (successful) community is not a certainty; the ultimate success of it depends on the people who choose to live there. How do you create this place where people WANT to live? How the design of the net zero energy Grow Community on Bainbridge Island, Washington, creates the basis for a shared sense of purpose, bring residents together toward common lifestyle goals and creating a strong sense of place and connection within a neighborhood.

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ULI finds Grow on its roadmap to healthy neighborhoods

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The Urban Land Institute has drawn up its roadmap for healthy development, and Grow Community is a prominent waypoint.

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Grow is cited twice in the “Building Health Places Toolkit: Strategies for Enhancing Health in the Built Environment,” an expansive new report on sustainable planning and construction from the ULI. The report looks at developments and communities that have been successful in promoting physical activity, healthy food and clean drinking water, and general social well-being.

Grow’s famous community gardens and “edible landscaping” are cited as a prime amenity in today’s urban and suburban planning.

“Participation in community gardening activities can increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, and when community members come together around the growing of food, the interaction promotes social bonds and connections,” the editors write. “Local produce helps reduce pollution associated with shipping food long distances.”

The ULI notes that gardening has enjoyed a growing popularity across the country, a trend that is expected to continue: “Small farms can take the place of golf courses as community centerpieces, can cost less on an upfront and ongoing basis, and can provide community members with fresh, locally grown food.”

Grow is also touted for earning certification under the One Planet Living program, whose ambitious 10-point goals promote reducing humans’ impact on the earth. You can read all about Grow’s impressive One Planet designation elsewhere on our website.

“Reading a report” might not sound like the most scintillating springtime activity, but the ULI’s new “Building Healthy Places Toolkit” will surprise you – we promise. It’s a very colorful read, and highlights the most forward-thinking work being done in planning and construction today.

View the report here (page 48 online & 40 in print) and find out more about the sustainable vision that earned Grow Community recognition among the very best new neighborhoods anywhere.

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Seattle Magazine touts Grow for affordable green living

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Seattle Magazine’s special “Best Affordable Neighborhoods” edition is on newsstands now, and Grow Community makes the cut among the area’s best bargains.

In a helpful write-up called “How To Buy Your Dream House In a Competitive Market,” the magazine touts Grow as a premier choice for today’s eco-conscious buyers.

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Grow was designed to create an intergenerational urban community that “makes sustainable choices both available and affordable,” Seattle Magazine notes.

The magazine cites Grow’s ultra-efficient, 5-Star Built Green–certified construction, the energy- and cost-saving perk of solar power, and our famous shared community gardens. Sixty percent of homes in our next two phases, the Grove and the Park, will be accessible for intergenerational living.

Read the whole article at www.seattlemag.com.

“It will be a challenge,” Seattle Magazine writes, “but even in the most competitive market, you can snag the perfect house and come out a winner.”

Yes you can – and we’ll help. To learn more about purchase opportunities at Grow Community, email live@growbainbridge.com, or visit our sales office at 180 Olympic Drive SE, just a few steps up from the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal.

100 percent and a gold star – Grow aces the solar test

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Already the largest solar neighborhood in Washington state, Grow Community hit another milestone this week.

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With the completion of two more solar installations, every single-family home and duplex in Grow’s first phase, the Village, is now powered by photovoltaics.

PV systems numbers 22 and 23 are online and producing renewable energy, improving the neighborhood’s already stellar self-sufficiency while promising generous utility savings and financial returns for the homeowners.

“It’s a landmark moment for Grow Community and Washington solar,” says Greg Lotakis, project manager. “With 100 percent participation, our residents are really showing the way forward for neighborhoods that want to choose solar for a sustainable energy future.”

Grow’s next two phases, the Grove and the Park, will also offer the solar option.  Stay tuned for more details.

Progress, with a chance of rain

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February Construction Update 

We’ve had one of the mildest winters in recent memory, with no snow and only a few nights hitting freezing temperatures.

At the same time, we’ve had quite a few significant bursts of rain – 2 inches or more at a time. Such is the nature of winter construction in the Northwest.

The crews continue to work on footings and foundation walls at the north end of the site, including those for the Salal and Elan buildings.

Once the foundation walls are done for these buildings, the form work for the ceiling or “lid” of the garage will start. This will be the first peek for the public to get a sense of what we’re building as the main floors begin to take shape.

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Conscious Company finds the future at Grow

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Conscious Company Magazine, a new journal focusing on innovation and sustainability, recently paid a call on Grow Community to get the scoop on our über-intentional neighborhood.

logo“It’s an inspiring model of community development and one that we hope will begin to scale throughout the rest of the country,” writes Maren Keeley, whose magazine bills itself as “The Future of Business as Usual.”

Maren sat down with Greg Lotakis, our project manager, for a great interview that highlights the best of what Grow has to offer. Here’s an excerpt:

MK: What aspect of this community are you most proud of?

GL: Ultimately, all the “cool” around sustainability means nothing without community. Really, Grow Community Bainbridge is about creating opportunities for residents to support each other in the pursuit of One Planet Living. Being able to walk across your path and connect with your neighbor over a glass of wine, share time in the garden with your grandchild, or watch kids and dogs play in the open space at the end of a day makes Grow special. It all comes back to health and happiness.

MK: Do you feel this idea can scale and be brought to other communities in the U.S.?

GL: We truly hope so. There are so many great builders and innovators in green building that now it’s time to be thinking large-scale. Too many neighborhoods have been developed for one particular moment in our lives, lack energy efficiency, or allow vehicles to disconnect us from one another.

You can read the whole interview with Greg Lotakis here.

Thanks to Maren Keeley and the new Conscious Company Magazine for the fantastic coverage.

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Another BIG award — Best In Green for Grow

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That Platinum Award we brought home from the National Home Builders Association conference recently wasn’t the only hardware for the trophy case.

Grow Community also earned the NAHB’s prestigious Best In Green Award, honoring the very finest in sustainable design and construction.

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While the home builders have honored green building in the past, this marked the first time projects have gone head-to-head for the honor across a range of construction types and categories.

The competition included projects including 50-plus housing, multifamily construction, and top marketing and design for systems-built homes. And of course the Best In American Living category, in which Grow earned the very top honors.

“The award program is one of the largest in the industry to recognize high performance and innovative distinction in design and construction,” the NAHB writes.

Both the Best In Green Award and Best In American Living Platinum Award were announced at NAHB’s recent annual conference in Las Vegas.

Thank you, from Grow Community and PHC Construction, to the NAHB for these tremendous honors.

Click here to view the magazine spread about Grow.