What's it like to live at Grow Community?
Our bountiful neighborhood gardens get all the press, but there's still plenty going on during these chilly indoor months.
YULE FEST: Over the holidays one Grow resident hosted a Weihnacht Evening, a German-themed Christmas get-together with tasty hot mulled wine (and NA cider, for those who don't imbibe), homemade cookies and spicy bread.
FETE '15: Across the way, residents of the new Cooper building threw a neighborhood-wide New Year's Eve party, a get-acquainted social to introduce Grow's most recent residents.
BARGAINS & BINS: Our eco-conscious ethos served us well through the holidays, as residents made sure unneeded items found their way to the nearby Bargain Boutique thrift store, and leftover packaging wound up in the appropriate recycling bin.
STAYING SAFE: Grow's Emergency Preparedness Training got underway with the Bainbridge Island Fire Department, with the goal of "Building and Strengthening Disaster Readiness Among Neighbors." Emphasis was on "mapping" the neighborhood to know our neighborhood resources and identify residents who might be vulnerable in an emergency. Grow is all about being a self-sustaining community.
PEDALS READY: The new bike barn was finished - and promptly filled up with two-wheeled wonders. One resident donated a small children's bike to the community, for any young visitors who want to get to know Grow by pedaling around the green.
GETTING ON BOARD: For strategically minded gamers, a new neighborhood Chess Group is forming.
Oh - and the 2015 Garden Committee is now looking for new members to plan for the upcoming planting season. You didn't think we could get through a whole post without mentioning the gardens, did you?
Grow Community's first phase, the Village, is at full occupancy, so we're making more room just for ... you. Find out what our next two neighborhoods, the Grove and the Park, have to offer by visiting our sales office at 180 Olympic Drive in Winslow, just up the way from the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal.
Learn more about the Grove on our website here and pay us a visit at our sales office! We'd like you as a neighbor too.
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January Construction Update
The weather has certainly been mixed, but Grow Community construction continues apace. Crews have completed the majority of the excavation work and have now started forming and pouring footings and foundation walls for the garage for the Grove, our next neighborhood.
While progress may not always be apparent from street level, we are using a "UAV" - an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, otherwise known as a "drone" - to keep a visual record of the construction process.
In the lower right corner of the accompanying aerial photo, you can see a series of white structures. This is actually a small part of the foundation and garage for a building in the Park, Grow's third and final neighborhood.
This section of the last phase had to be built first in order to support the utilities and structures that will be uphill in the Grove. Construction sequencing can present challenges, but we always seem to figure out the right solutions!
 The crews have also started in on the portion of the garage under the Salal building, and will march around to the northwest corner and then head south to form and pour the Elan townhome building next. While the garage is being completed, the framing will start in earnest, so the two tasks - concrete foundations and framing - will be taking place at the same time. We'll be up out of the ground this Spring!
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Grow sets the table for Urban Agriculture
Grow Community is outstanding in its field - more precisely, its planter boxes.
Grow is one of 10 exemplars of the new Urban Agriculture, the Urban Land Institute Magazine says in its current issue. The ULI praises Grow for the rich mix of raised beds and plantings throughout the community grounds, tended by residents and yielding a bounty of fruits, vegetables and herbs to be shared by all.
It's a sustainable strategy, the magazine writes, narrowing the wasteful distance between farm and table and enhancing food security. It's an idea that's catching on - and one that puts Grow Community in the forefront of a national movement.
"The rise of the locavore movement dovetails with an increased awareness of the health benefits of choosing fresh vegetables and fruits over highly processed foods," ULI writes. "In response, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, developers, and entrepreneurs are bringing agrarian practices into the city, shrinking food deserts, helping educate people about gardening practices, and reconnecting city dwellers to the source of their food."
Grow Community's first phase, the Village, includes extensive gardens while the next phase, the Grove, now under construction, will be arranged around an orchard to produce "edible landscaping."
Other projects feted by the ULI include the Grow Dat Youth Farm in New Orleans, La.; sprawling and productive rooftop gardens on Chicago's McCormick Place convention center; and other amazing plots and pea-patches that have sprouted up in unlikely urban settings in Toronto, London, Montreal, Los Angeles and other major metropolitan areas. Great company for Grow!
Thanks to the Urban Land Institute for calling attention to Grow Community's commitment to healthy, sustainable urban agriculture.
Read the story here
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INTERESTED IN LIVING AT GROW COMMUNITY?
We still have room for you
Great opportunities are still available in the Grove neighborhood with its mix of single-level homes, townhomes and single-family residences, all arrayed around a quiet native woodland and orchard. With beautifully designed, ultra-efficient homes and even a solar option, the Grove sets a new standard for healthy, sustainable living.
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