Happy Earth Day from Grow Community
We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, the Native American proverb goes, we borrow it from our children.
The wellbeing of our planet and the quality of life that we’ll leave to future generations is what Grow Community is all about.
Every facet of our design, planning and construction asks a simple question: How can we build a healthier, more sustainable community?
The success of our first neighborhood, the Village, says we’re finding the right answers. Now, as work progresses on our next two phases, the Grove and the Park, word is really getting around.
Over this past year, we were honored to present the community at the Northwest Eco-Building Guild Green Building Slam event. The Urban Land Institute made Grow a prominent waypoint on its roadmap to healthy neighborhoods, the excellent “Building Healthy Places Toolkit.” And we were featured in the new eco-focused publication Conscious Company.
As we reached 100 percent solar participation among our single-family homes in the Village, Solar Builder magazine named Grow one of the nation’s top residential solar installations, and we were named 2014 Home of the Year by Green Builder Magazine.
Perhaps the best accolade of all came from the National Association of Home Builders, who gave Grow its very highest honors – the prestigious Platinum Award and Best In Green Award in the 2014 Best In American Living contest.
We think we’re really on to something – a new model for healthy, sustainable urban living, one that offers the template for new neighborhoods and multi-generational living around the country and the globe.
We’re thinking ahead, and we’re thinking big. At Grow Community, we know we borrow the earth from our children – and we want to return it to them, with interest.
From all of us at Grow Community, Happy Earth Day!
Grow featured in NW design magazine
Grow 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)
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.
Grow now the standard lifestyle of the future
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.
Jonathan 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
The 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
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.
ULI finds Grow on its roadmap to healthy neighborhoods
The Urban Land Institute has drawn up its roadmap for healthy development, and Grow Community is a prominent waypoint.
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.
Seattle Magazine touts Grow for affordable green living
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.
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 [email protected], or visit our sales office at 180 Olympic Drive SE, just a few steps up from the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal.
ABOUT GROW COMMUNITY
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.
