We believe that we can affect social change by building the most sustainable neighborhood in North America. This section chronicles our attempt to change the nature of development by making it about people, communities and public health.

Going solar at Grow is easier than you think

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Choosing the solar option.
Grow is a One Planet Community with a goal to achieve Net Zero Carbon from buildings by 2020. To achieve this we have designed each house to be powered entirely by solar. Each homeowner can choose to add the solar option at the time their house is constructed or at a later date. The system has been designed to provide all the power you will need for your house, reducing not only your carbon footprint, but reducing the money you spend on power over time.
Solar Package.
All homes at Grow are solar-ready and are wired for easy installation of solar panels at any time. Grow is able to provide a solar package at an incredible price because we install a large volume of panels throughout the project. We have negotiated a price for solar with A&R Solar based on bulk installation. This price includes installation, permitting, Manufactured in Washington photovoltaic panels and micro-inverters, as well as a racking system supplied by a Washington-based company.
Solar Financing.
Home buyers interested in financing their solar array have the option of unsecured solar loans through Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union or Umpqua Bank. Interest rates range from 4.5%-7.99%. There are no loan fees or closing costs and preliminary approval often occurs in 24 hours or less. The annual incentives available in Washington State, for Washington-made equipment can be applied to cover much of the principal and interest on the loan.
The current federal tax credit, the extension of the sales tax exemption, as well as the annual incentives available from Washington State, make solar an easy financial choice. We encourage you to choose the solar option and will assist you in making this possible.

 

Backers see $60M Grow Community as prototype for going super green

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Daily Journal of Commerce
May 20th, 2013

click here to read article

Sustainable Business: Washington state’s largest solar community tests the marketplace

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Puget Sound Business Journal
May 10th, 2013

click here to read article

Grow Community homes are 5-Star Built Green!

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We are very excited to announce that Grow Community homes have achieved 5-Star Built Green status, the highest rating for Built Green certification. Built Green is designed to help homebuyers find quality, affordable homes that offer opportunities to protect the health of their families and the Northwest environment. This is a great step forward in our efforts to create cost-effective, energy efficient One Planet homes on the cutting-edge of today’s sustainable development practices.

Click here to read Built Green’s case study on Grow Community.

NW Green Home Tour

Saturday, April 27th 2013, 11am-5pm
Grow Model Homes  |  428 Grow Avenue NW, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

Come visit our Built Green 5-Star Homes on April 27th! Grow Community will be one of the stops on the NW Green Home Tour. Co-produced by Northwest Eco Building Guild Seattle Chapter and Built Green this tour is a FREE spring event. This will be the 3rd Annual NW Green Home Tour for Seattle, Bainbridge Island + Eastside.

 

To learn more about the tour go to the NW Eco Building Guild website.

 

Grow Community was awarded the 2013 Futurewise Livable Communities Award

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Grow Community was awarded the 2013 Futurewise Livable Communities Award for Overall Excellence in Residential Community Development.

“The Grow Community development was selected because it demonstrates the extraordinary value of innovation in sustainable green building, reduced carbon footprint, transit oriented, and creating healthy communities with a strong sense of place.  As the only One Planet Community project in Washington State, the second in the nation, and the fifth in the world, your development is pushing the needle of where our built environment needs to be going if we are truly going to create sustainable healthy communities.”
– Hilary Franz, Futurewise Executive Director

Thank you for this honor!

 

It Takes A Village: Cultivating Community Through Collaboration

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We’d like you to meet Scott McGowan, One Planet Champion for our 7th One Planet Principle, Local and Sustainable Food.  We asked him why he got involved with Grow and to share his thoughts on the One Planet program.  Here is his response.

I decided to get involved in the Grow project after meeting Jonathan Davis.  He is a long time family friend of my wife, Haripurkh Khalsa , and previous student of her father Guru Singh.  Jonathan explained the One Planet concept and I was thrilled.  The core of The One Planet concept is exactly how I try to live my life, and exactly where we need to be striving towards with all development.   I have an electric truck, electric tools and don’t use any pesticides or harmful chemicals in my work.  I have spent the last 10-15 years planning and working on community gardens and I could not believe that a private development actually could be so focused on growing food as a means to build and create community!

The network of community gardens will create a better place for the residents by (1) reducing the amount of trips they need to take to the grocery store, 2) eating and living healthier lifestyles 3) building strong friendships and community 4) donating fresh foods to local food banks 5) educating residents and the broader Bainbridge community about growing food and building sustainable community through modeling and 6) providing fun community events in the beautiful outdoor garden spaces.

I believe that the network of community Gardens built into the overall design of the Grow Community is the key piece that can make this innovative concept work.  Community gardens/farms take teamwork and community involvement to run.  They will serve to connect neighbors in Grow with each other, and with the surrounding community.

The shared goal for Grow is to provide an important educational opportunity for children and creating future advocates for community gardens.

A few weeks ago Scott engaged local elementary students from Madrona School in the first harvest of our welcome garden. The effort was part of an educational program in local and organic foods. The kids harvested, learnt to cook with some of the vegetables, and provided some to the local food kitchen at Helpline House on Bainbridge.

For more about Scott’s organization Alleycat Acres, click here.

Construction Update: Trees

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The following is a blog post written by Asani President Marja Preston in March 2012 on the subject of trees on the Grow Community construction site. With the second phase of construction beginning, this is again an important subject to explore. Now that construction has begun, we can share more on how we plan on saving and re-using trees on the site.

Protected tree on Grow Community construction site

1. Working with professional arborist Katy Bigelow, we walked through the property to designate significant trees to save and to remove trees that presented a danger to the neighborhood.

2. Several trees that required removal have been used as stream bank restoration for salmon habitat by the Kitsap County Surface and Stormwater Management Program.

3. Much of the cleared material will be re-purposed on-site for construction material, playground sites, and erosion control.

4. We will be replanting more trees (~250) than we remove.

Here is the original blog post:

Part of the careful planning we’ve put in place for this project includes everyday environmental choices that incorporate the beauty of our surroundings. This project is in the R-14 zone, which, under the new land use code, does not require retention of existing trees on the site. The Grow project will meet Built Green 5-Star certification, which requires substantial tree retention. In addition, we are committed to contributing to the long-term tree canopy goal of 50% coverage in Winslow, as outlined in the Bainbridge Island Urban Forest Management Plan.

Lead Architect Johnathan Davis marking trees to be re-utilized in the Grow Community playground.

In order to meet all these goals, our plan is to retain existing vegetation as much as possible. To accomplish this, we continue to work with a professional arborist, Katy Bigelow, to identify the maximum amount of trees that can reasonably be retained with the urban density that is planned. From here, once all trees have been identified, a service such as Gosnell Tree & Landscape or a similar company will be contracted for the removal of the selected trees.

We have focused on retaining trees in clusters and larger areas, for instance, at the corner of Grow Avenue and Wyatt Way, to maintain native vegetation areas, preserving habitat and maintaining existing green corridors. In addition, we are planting more than 250 new trees throughout the site. The new vegetation will enhance the existing green corridors and contribute to stormwater uptake and carbon sequestration, absorbing more than 900 metric tons of carbon over the next 100 years, almost double what the existing trees would have absorbed over that same time period.

As with all projects designed for urban densities, some trees must be removed, as preserving large trees next to new construction rarely works in the long-term. For the trees that do need to be removed or relocated we are taking the utmost care. All trees marked for preservation have been fenced at the dripline and no root systems will be disturbed by heavy equipment. Several Vine Maples have been saved for reuse in the project, a Dogwood is going home with one of our Contractors, several other plants will be going to a local landscaper, and we are working with the Kitsap Conservation District to salvage evergreens for Salmon Restoration projects.