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Grow Community in the News: Seattle Times

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Bainbridge development to be totally solar powered, carbon neutral

Grow Community is following One Planet Living sustainability standards for a planned 130-unit residential development.

By Reid Champagne
Special to The Seattle Times

Grow Community has started work on a 130-unit residential development on Bainbridge Island. The development says it will use roof-installed solar panels to provide 100 percent of the power needed for each residence.

The project has received the One Planet Living seal of approval, the fifth community to do so, says Marja Preston, president of Asani, the real estate development company overseeing the Grow development.

One Planet Living is a global initiative launched by the World Wildlife Fund and environmental consultancy BioRegional that promotes zero-carbon emissions, zero waste and car-free cities.

“The most important principle we have committed to at Grow is to design and build zero carbon buildings by 2020,” Preston explains.

In addition to generating all of the building’s energy needs from solar, the Grow Community will feature heat recovery ventilation systems, energy efficient appliances and LED fixtures, she says.

“Since our lifestyle choices from food and transportation have almost three times the carbon impact our buildings do, we have paid particular attention to community gardens of edible plants, as well as an electric car for our car-share program,” Preston adds.

(See Full Article Here)

Grow Community In The News: EarthTechling

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Bainbridge Island’s Net Zero Community Homes Open For Tours

By Susan DeFreitas

Sick of the traffic in Seattle, and dreaming of the low-impact, car-free lifestyle? Serious about growing food, but lacking in large-scale farming ambitions? Consider a tour of one of new model homes that have recently opened their doors in Grow Community, a new net-zero energy development on Bainbridge Island centered around gardening and low-impact modes of transportation.

This collection of new, net-zero energy homes — located just a 35-minute ferry-ride across the Puget Sound from Seattle — was designed by Jonathan Davis of  Davis Studio Architecture + Design and is currently under development. To give prospective residents a glimpse of what life in this eight-acre “pedestrian-oriented, energy-efficient, multigenerational neighborhood” might look like, the community has opened up its first three green prefabricated model homes, which are now open for tours.

(See Full Article Here)

Grow Community in the News: Mother Nature Network

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Grow Community: Evergreen Homes

By Matt Hickman

Thar she grows! The first three model homes at Grow Community, a net-zero energy development centered around gardening and low-impact transportation, are open for tours on Bainbridge Island.

After going on summer hiatus last month, I’m back with a noteworthy edition “Evergreen homes” — a monthly series of posts in which I break out the geographical bias and spotlight green residential building projects from my home state of Washington — that spotlights a sustainable community that’s well, grown, since I last wrote about it.

I first featured Grow Community — an enclave of net-zero energy residences located in Seattle’s bucolic bedroom community of Bainbridge Island — in July of 2011 after touring an unrelated modular show home designed by the project architect, Jonathan Davis of Davis Studio Architecture + Design, creators of pieceHomes, at the Dwell on Design conference in L.A.

At the time, all I had to share about the 8-acre “pedestrian-oriented, energy-efficient, multigenerational neighborhood” were early renderings and a few key highlights (Community composting facilities! P-Patches! Kayak storage! Minimal parking spaces!). Perhaps one of the more intriguing aspects of Grow — geared to be the largest solar-ready planned community in Washington, by the way — is the fact that it’s the first residential project in the U.S. to be endorsed by One Planet Living‘s Communities program, a rigorous, 10-tier certification program developed by U.K. nonprofit BioRegional Development Group and WWF International that focuses on the greenness of neighborhoods instead of individual homes.

(See Full Article Here)

Grow Community in the News: JetsonGreen

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Net-Zero Energy Homes in Grow Community

By Preston

This is Grow Community near downtown Winslow on Bainbridge Island in Washington.  The first three model homes — Ocean, Everett, and Aria — are finished and work is moving forward for the next 24 homes and two 10-unit rowhouse apartments.  The eight-acre project is the first residential One Planet Community in North America (issued by U.K. non-profit BioRegional).  However, in addition to this recognition, the aim is net-zero homes and an entirely net-zero energy community by 2020.

(See Full Article Here)

Grow Community in the News: SMB Nation

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Window into the New: Innovative Design Using Technology Shapes Grow Community on Bainbridge Island For Ultra-Cool Sustainable Living

By Tracy Anna Bader

Sustainability is a concept sprouting up everywhere, defining much of what is associated with today’s cutting edge culture. Shedding a stereotype of an idealistic grass-roots environmental movement, today the concept of sustainability is ultra-cool, hip and hot across age and gender groups, a driving force in sales and marketing, taking the lead in shaping modern design and influencing business—using state-of-the-art technology as a foremost ally.

Leading the way in the concept of attractive, affordable, practical solutions for sustainable living in the United States is the new Grow Community on Bainbridge Island, Washington taking root near the heart of the Island’s commercial center in Winslow located only 35 minutes by ferry, directly west across from Seattle in Puget Sound.

As a designer, and University of California Davis Design Department alumni, I am always on the lookout for new trends—especially in environmental design. So, when I stumbled upon Grow Community being built this summer during my initial visit to the Island, I must say, it was love at first sight!  Warm colors and an array of interesting visuals drew my friend and me inside. Other passerby’s stopped in awe, generating a steady stream of pedestrian traffic with a positive vibe of satisfied intrigue…a collective sigh of relief was felt in the air of content excitement to see dreams and concepts actually being turned into a reality we could experience firsthand, and even purchase.

Read article here.

Grow Community on Real Estate Radio Northwest

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Grow team members Joie and Greg were interviewed by Nick Neal and Carolyn Frame on Real Estate Radio Northwest, a weekly show dedicated to “providing a forum for consumers to learn the truth of their financial life, which is mostly centered around their biggest investment, the home they live in.” Be sure to listen to the show segments by clicking the links below (give them a few seconds to load) as Greg and Joie talk about Grow Community and the family values, energy consciousness, and community living which the project is centered upon.

Segment 1:  First Segment, Grow Community is a new development on Bainbridge Island focusing on building a neighborhood based on good old fashioned family values with energy efficiency and earth conscious living built in. They are accomplishing all of this with beautiful architecture and style. Greg Lotakis on the Project Management Team and Joie Olsen Director of Sales and Leasing joined us to talk about the project. In the first segment we get to know Greg and Joie and find out about the ideas behind GROW and ONE PLANET. (click here to listen to this segment)

 

Segment 2: In the second segment with Greg and Joie we talk about the philosophy behind the Grow Project and how the people of Bainbridge Island helped share in it’s development. We also find out about One Planet Living and how that is good for our future. (click here to listen to this segment)
Segment 3: In the 3rd segment we talk about the nuts and bolts of the project. What types of homes they are building at Grow Community and the features they will offer. The designs are beautiful to look at and efficient and cost effective to maintain. The idea is a neighborhood community of homes that are affordable to buy and lease as well as affordable to maintain. All of this with a warm neighborhood feeling. (click here to listen to this segment)
Segment 4: In the 4th segment on Grow we talk about the team behind the project and how much fun it will be to live there. It’s close to downtown Winslow and the Seattle Ferry. With a lot of BI within walking distance. Greg and Joie were great and did a wonderful job sharing the project with us. (click here to listen to this segment)

Wondering What’s Going On at the New Construction Site Along Grow Avenue?

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Those of you who have driven by Grow Avenue have seen that we have started construction and may be wondering what we are up to.  We have recently begun construction of three model homes that will be prototypes for the Grow Community. The model homes face Grow Avenue and are intended to showcase the different designs and floor-plans which will be available throughout the site. Construction will be complete and the homes available to tour mid-summer.

Grow is the first endorsedOne Planet Community to build residential homes in the United States. A One Planet Community is built to the highest standards for environmental, economic and social sustainability. One Planet takes development beyond the standards of LEED, requiring not only sustainable building design, but sustainable lifestyle design. The Grow project pays attention to every detail – not only how buildings are built, but how people live in those buildings. We at Asani believe that our built environment affects our health and happiness and are building Grow to reflect our needs as social creatures as well as the needs of the planet.  With solar power on the roof, a garden in the backyard and a car share program on-site, it will not only be easy, but affordable and fun to live a zero-carbon lifestyle at Grow.

To accomplish this, our team has designed incredibly energy efficient homes which will provide residents with an easy way to live a carbon-free lifestyle.  We have worked hard to balance cost considerations with the latest in building systems and technologies. The homes you see under construction just now are model homes that will be used to test not only the various energy-efficient building designs and systems, they will also be used to gather feedback on the home layout and design, as well as the One Planet living concept.

If successful, these models will be turned into actual residential facilities that can serve as a sustainable home to many people. The same model may be replicated soon across the country with ample help from construction companies in jacksonville fl as well as other cities in which the One Planet living concept may be implemented. Construction practices for residential homes are taking a turn towards more sustainable processes which can facilitate a bigger change in the coming years. More and more people seem to be recognizing the value of living in energy-efficient homes with plenty of natural light and surrounded by greenery. Not only is this a great step towards protecting the Earth, but also towards a healthier lifestyle.

The three homes that will be available for touring in the next couple of months are the Aria, the Ocean and the Everett.The Everett, the largest of the group, is a single-family, 3 bedroom dwelling meant to comfortably house a family.  With a study, a mud room, a playroom and endless storage, this is the perfect family house. The Ocean is an intergenerational home designed for main-floor living with a master suite on the ground floor.  A second master suite and roof-top deck on the second floor make this a flexible house for all different living situations. The Aria, a 2-bedroom single family dwelling with a light footprint, has tons of space and is perfect for a young family.

As these homes go up we will be sharing more about the designs and the thought-process behind the sustainability choices we have made.  We will be sharing our mistakes as well as our successes.  We look forward to an open dialogue as we learn and hope that our efforts will spark new and interesting discussions around sustainable design.

Check back next week for more details on the energy-efficient wall designs being tested at Grow and for general construction updates and progress reports. Let us know if you have any questions, comments or concerns here in the comment section, or onFacebook and Twitter.

The Grow Team