FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Anthony Aufdenkampe, Equity Member of Concord Ecovillage
Phone: 610-268-2153 ext. 263 (day)
610-268-2330 (evening/weekend)
Email: aufdenkampe@stroudcenter.org
Website: http://www.concordecovillage.org/
Local
Residents on Path to Building a Net-Zero Energy “Ecovillage”
Neighborhood in
West Grove
West Grove Borough
Council
supports innovative site design
West Grove, PA - November 17, 2008 – The
future residents of Concord
Ecovillage and their development partners, Aye Partners LLC, presented
plans to build a solar-powered, LEED Platinum certified
neighborhood in
West Grove Borough at the Nov. 5th Council meeting. The homes will be energy independent and carbon
neutral. Residents will have no energy
utility bills. The partnership will
unveil their plans to potential residents and the public at 5:30 p.m.
on
December 7th at Kennett Friends Meeting.
The project is expected to generate
national interest, as very few net-zero energy homes have been built to
date at
market rates. “A primary goal is to
bring state-of-the-art ‘green building’ design within the reach of
typical home
buyers” states Anthony Aufdenkampe, Equity Member of the Concord
Ecovillage
group and future resident of the neighborhood.
Sandy Wiggins, a nationally
recognized leader in green building and a principal of Aye
Partners,
elaborates, “There has been a Green Tsunami sweeping the commercial and
institutional building sector, but residential development lags far
behind. We want to help lead the way to
a residential green building revolution by demonstrating that
affordable, net
zero, quality housing is achievable today.”
Aufdenkampe continues, “A great many Americans would like to
live in
homes that match their environmental ideals, but they have nearly no
viable
options. And who wouldn’t love saying
goodbye to heating and electricity bills, especially after electric
utilities
are deregulated in 2010.”
“In addition to environmental
sustainability, our other primary goal is to create a socially
sustainable
neighborhood” explains Janet Pelletier, another Equity Member and
future
resident. Homes will be clustered around
pedestrian green-ways and courtyards. The
site
plan includes substantial open-space as natural meadows, wetlands,
and
community gardens, and also encourages social interaction among
neighbors. A large clubhouse with a commercial
kitchen,
large meeting/dining hall, media room, workshop and other shared
facilities
will further promote connections between residents. “I
want my children to be connected to other
children and adults in their daily lives,” cites Bonnie Dickson, as one of the many reasons
she is interested in
living in the neighborhood.
Concord Ecovillage is actively
seeking additional future residents to participate in the design and
development
process. “One of the many exciting things
that sets this project apart is that it is resident-driven development.
The
needs and interests of future residents are front and center. We have learned that participatory design
leads to extraordinary results that just can’t be achieved any other
way,”
explains Jackie O’Neil, another principal of Aye Partners.
Denny Howell of West Grove
Partners, LLC,
owner of the land under agreement quotes, "I am proud to be supporting
an
environmentally and socially sustainable community. This
is a very exciting project."
To get involved or just learn more,
interested potential residents and public are encouraged to attend a
presentation and discussion of design and development plans starting at
5:30 pm
on Sunday, December 7 at the Kennett
Friends Meeting, N Union & Sickles St, Kennett Square, PA. The public is also welcome to Concord
Ecovillage’s monthly potluck, starting at 4:30 pm just before the
meeting. State
Representative-elect Tom Houghton, who supports the project, and
will be in
attendance.
Concord Ecovillage is also organizing
a day-long tour of two ecovillages in the Washington DC
area on December 6. Further details are listed
on the Concord
Ecovillage web-calendar at http://concordecovillage.typepad.com/concord_ecovillage/calendar.html.
Ecovillages and cohousing are two similar
movements
that combine the advantages of private homes with the benefits of more
sustainable living, including shared common facilities and ongoing
connections
with neighbors. They have
a demonstrated track record with over
200 successfully completed
neighborhoods in the USA. Units
typically sell and resell quickly at higher than market rates, and
most
completed neighborhoods have waiting lists of would-be buyers.
Concord Ecovillage (www.concordecovillage.org)
is an organization
of local people seeking to build and reside in an environmentally and
socially
sustainable neighborhood.
Aye Partners, LLC, are leaders in
sustainable development and consulting.
