At the Grow Community we believe that our built environments are crucial to the health of our minds and bodies. This section is devoted to how we’ve tried to design the healthiest community for ourselves and our kids.
Contractors in the Grow Community PHC Construction team were treated to a locally grown luncheon on the job site last week. All food for the noontime repast was grown on Bainbridge and North Kitsap farms. Local agriculture, sustainability and health are always on the menu at Grow!
We already knew Grow Community sets a new standard for sustainable construction. Earning a Green Hammer award just pounds that message home.
Our builder PHC Construction is being honored with a 2014 Built Green Hammer award by the Master Builders Association, a real mark of excellence among regional projects.
The Built Green program is designed to help buyers find quality, affordable homes that protect the health of their families and the Northwest environment. Built Green homes are designed to provide homeowners with comfortable, durable, environmentally friendly homes that are cost-effective to own and maintain.
Yep, that’s Grow!
“We’re very honored to receive this prestigious recognition,” says PHC’s Marty Sievertson. “Our goal has been to help make Grow Community the healthiest, most environmentally friendly project possible, and to show what’s possible in sustainable construction. This award is a great endorsement of how a sustainable project can be a success.” This company is one of many who are looking to make construction sustainable for the future. By using materials, such as steel, construction can be made into a much more sustainable industry. Nowadays, more and more building sites are looking into using steel for building projects as it is strong and long-lasting. This means that the material will last a long time, lowering the chances of the building materials ever needing replacing. When installing steel to a building, welders are normally called out to make sure the pieces of steel have been cut precisely with Hypertherm powermax models. This ensures that the steel will fit in place. Welders will then use high temperatures to join the materials together, ensuring that they last a long time. This is a more sustainable approach to construction.
Congratulations to PHC Construction for this fine honor!
DOES WELLNESS MAKE BUSINESS SENSE AS A DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE?
How have developers pursued this objective? What has the market response been? And how have developers measured their success?
Grow Community is featured in this publication by Urban Land Institute as a case study on building for wellness.
Building for Wellness provides answers directly from developers who have completed projects with wellness intentions. In 13 sets of interviews, developers explain their motivation, their intended wellness and health outcomes, the development process and operations as related to their health intentions, and the key issue in this publication—the metrics of market performance.
Click here to read the publication.
Two members of the Grow team, Dylan Sievertson (PHC) and Greg Lotakis (Asani), recently joined other builders within NEEA’s (Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance) Phase 1 of the Next Step Homes Program to discuss the future of our residential built environment. For the past year NEEA has been monitoring 12 pre-selected homes (including the Everett at Grow) from builders across the Northwest with the goal to determine new methods and specifications for high performing homes. Each of these high performing homes focused on energy efficiency, better indoor air quality, and (for some) the pursuit of Net Zero energy use.
The half day roundtable was used to share data, lessons learned, and open dialogue amongst the group of builders. The Everett was featured as a top performer and much was learned about the systems that were incorporated to make this home a leading example in home efficiency.
NEEA is getting set to begin Phase 2 of the program and Grow will again likely have another home monitored.
Click here to learn more about the Next Step Homes Program and Grows involvement.
The first neighborhood at Grow Community will come together this summer when the rental homes are finished. In order to keep moving toward completion of the entire community, we have been working hard to come up with a design that meets all of our criteria and that builds on everything we’ve learned over the past several years.The next two neighborhoods at Grow will continue to meet our One Planet goals, with a focus on truly intergenerational living. Sixty percent of the homes will be accessible, with aging in community as a design priority. In addition, a number of the homes are being designed and priced for young families, creating that mix of vibrant and lively interaction that makes Grow such a great place to live.
Community Green Spaces PUBLIC OPEN HOUSEWed. March 5: 6.30-8.30pmThree out of the five acres in the next neighborhood will be community green space. These spaces will include gardens, native forest, and play areas for young and old alike. We would like to share with you the preliminary designs and hear your thoughts. Please join us at a March 5th evening Open House at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, to share in the conversation about how we can create the green spaces in a manner that enhances community.All are invited.
Location: Bainbridge Island Museum of Art – 550 Winslow Way East
Click here to download the event flier
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Status on the Construction Site
Construction on the Cooper Apartments is well underway. As the single-family homes are completed the attention will be turned to the apartments through mid summer to get them finished up. The landscaping, pathways and community bulletin boards are all getting finished up in time for spring, and residents are enthusiastically planning the community garden spaces in their pocket neighborhoods. Solar installations have continued on homes over the last several months and several more are expected in March/April. We have enjoyed seeing our solar garden grow! |
BioRegional, creators of the One Planet concept, have recently launched a major report about Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). The report is a significant NGO contribution to the UN debate on a set of sustainable development goals due to succeed the well-known Millennium Development Goals (to be fulfilled by 2015). BioRegional CEO Sue Riddlestone was recently given the opportunity to present this report to representatives of several dozen governments of countries around the world gathered at the United Nations in New York.
Major new report, authored by BioRegional, on sustainable consumption and production:
Click here to read the report here.
Grow Community will not be complete until all three neighborhoods are constructed. While the first neighborhood is finishing up, the Grow Team has been busy redesigning the next two neighborhoods. These next phases will complete the trail system, add a building for community gathering and even more gardens and open space. A fun fact: out of the 5 acres that make up the next two neighborhoods, 3 acres will be green space. More places to run, play, garden and connect!
We anticipate beginning construction on the second neighborhood this next summer. Stay tuned for more opportunities to participate in the design of open spaces in early 2014.
Click here to read the recent article in the Bainbridge Island Review about this next phase.
President, Marja Preston was speaking on a panel at the recent ULI (Urban Land Institute) conference on how we are building a healthy community at Grow. Here are the visual notes taken by an attendee at that discussion.
The Grow team would like to express our gratitude for the amazing community of Grow Bainbridge. On this day of giving thanks we want to let you know that we are truly grateful for all we have learned from everyone who has touched our lives through this community over the last year.
We want to extend a special thank you to all of the new and soon to be residents at Grow. We are excited, amazed, and humbled by the patience and dedication of the residents who have moved in to this community. Excited to meet each and every amazing personality, humbled by the commitment to sustainable living, and most grateful for the patience of all who waited so long to move in to their homes.
We wish for all of you a joyful holiday, a day of health and abundance.
All the best,
The Grow Team
Grow Community is an urban Net Zero neighborhood on Bainbridge Island, just a 35-minute ferry ride from downtown Seattle. With beautifully designed solar-powered homes, shared community gardens and clean transportation options, Grow allows all generations to enjoy a high-quality and healthy lifestyle.
After mid-March only one home remains to be built in the first neighborhood.