By Genevieve Fox for Great Lakes Echo.
Broadcast version by Shanteya Hudson for Michigan News Connection with support from the Solutions Journalism Network

An Ann Arbor developer wants to build one of the first 100% solar-powered, carbon-neutral and fossil fuel-free communities.

The idea is to pioneer the creation of neighborhoods that limit their contribution to climate change.

This project, called Veridian at County Farm, is proposed by THRIVE Collaborative – a real estate development, design, building, and consulting firm and Avalon Housing, a developer. Both are based in Ann Arbor.

“This is the way that neighborhoods have to be built,” said Matthew Grocoff, the co-founder of THRIVE. His motivation is to build sustainability and fight climate change where he lives, hoping other communities will do the same.

Sustainable neighborhoods like Geos Neighborhood in Arvada, Colorado are growing in the U.S. But Veridian says it’s unusual because it’s creating one of the nation’s first mixed-income sustainable communities.

Construction began early this year. People can move in by late next year. The home prices are expected to be roughly $800,000 for a family home. That compares to a similar but more traditionally built home that’s $1 million in Ann Arbor.

“We’re building a better quality home and still able to sell them at attainable price points,” Grocoff said.

The more than 80 proposed homes include 50 affordable housing rental townhomes. These properties will cost roughly $650 to $950 a month to rent, said Marcia Luke-van Dijk, director of communications and fund development at Avalon Housing.

Each home will have all-electric appliances powered by solar panels. They will be built with sustainably harvested wood, Grocoff said. The appliances and building materials will be free of toxic chemicals.

“No one should live in a home where their appliances are killing them – where carbon monoxide or other poisons are being emitted,” said Missy Stults, the sustainability and innovations director for Ann Arbor.

The neighborhood will also have its own microgrid to supply it with solar energy, Grocoff said.

If the goal is to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees in 2050, we have to start now to prevent temperature rise, Grocoff said

“If you believe that it’s too hard or it’s not possible, or that projects that have done this are outliers, then it’s easy to just go with what’s easy,” he said.

“We have very big plans to build more neighborhoods into the future and work with other builders and developers so that all homes in neighborhoods are built like Veridian,” Grocoff said.

THRIVE bought the site of a former youth prison for the project from Washtenaw County. The property is next to County Farm Park on Platt Road.

Grocoff said his team convinced Ann Arbor officials that to make big steps towards a sustainable future, they needed the space.

The project is exciting, Stults said.

“This just makes sense,” Stults said. “Why in the world are we locking in old fossil fuel-based infrastructure when we could be investing in a clean and sustainable future.”

Solar energy doesn’t always make sense for every neighborhood, Stults said. If you have a neighborhood filled with big trees, you don’t want to knock them down as they provide a service to that community.

And it can be expensive, Stults said. Typically it takes 10 years before residents start to save money, Stults said.

The average cost of installing solar in Michigan is $12,000 to $20,000, according to Energy Sage, a solar energy company based in Boston, Massachusetts serving over 30 states.

But homeowners could save over $100,000 in energy costs over the span of a mortgage, or 30 years, Grocoff said.

Veridian is one of 17 projects from 11 countries around the world meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

“We are on the verge of being able to eliminate concrete for our roads, which would eliminate somewhere between 650,000 to 1 million pounds of CO2,” Grocoff said.

CO2, or carbon dioxide, is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Limiting sources of carbon can be used as a marketing tool to attract buyers interested in sustainability, Grocoff said.

The development is part of the Living Community Challenge with the International Living Institute, a non-profit organization focused on supporting green projects. Grocoff hopes by being a part of this program, his project will receive a Zero Energy Certification.

But before labeling a project as zero energy certified, developers have to verify they’re following the guidelines for certification. These guidelines include that all of the building’s energy must be supplied by on-site renewables and no combustion.Once they’re improved, they can display the certification on their website or paperwork. .

Some companies once they receive the certification, they’ll stop making continuous efforts towards sustainability, Grocoff said. He adds THRIVE will always strive towards a green and healthy future.

“We will not add gas appliances now, and not ever”

The development will have a grocery store called Honey Locust Farm Stop and community gardens, Grocoff said.

He hopes Veridian will have restaurants and schools with similar commitments to sustainability.

“Sustainability is being able to provide all of the services that you need within a local area,” Grocoff said.

A sustainable future means local communities that provide their own food, water and energy.

“It’s a neighborhood that should be attainable.”


Genevieve Fox wrote this article for Great Lakes Echo.


get more stories like this via email

A survey of 760 registered Latino voters found 87% of Latinos support projects to produce a cleaner, natural world.

The poll, conducted in 10 states, including Illinois, was commissioned by the Hispanic Access Foundation. The organization creates outreach efforts to inspire individuals to improve themselves, their families and their communities.

Vanessa Muñoz, waterways program manager for the Hispanic Access Foundation, said the survey showed disparities and injustices in the Latino community and is designed to empower community leaders' push for change and boost issue awareness. She noted the survey's timing is crucial.

"We are in an election year," Muñoz emphasized. "The survey results can play a critical role in shaping and informing policy discussions and ensuring that the needs and perspective of Latino voters are considered in the electoral process."

Among those surveyed, 91% of Latinos support policies for future Congressional sessions such as new national monuments, national parks or wildlife refuges to protect areas for outdoor recreation.

Environmentalists are seeing an increase in Latino advocacy in the challenge to clean up U.S. land and waters, especially in the Mississippi River area.

Muñoz explained one goal is the Biden Administration's 30 by 30 plan, which calls for conserving 30% of America's lands, fresh water and oceans by the year 2030.

"We found that 86% of Latinos think that PFAS or forever chemicals are a major threat to the Mississippi River," Muñoz outlined. "Another one was that 93% of Latinos believe that trash dumped in rivers and streams is a major threat to the Mississippi River."

Other survey respondents were based in Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.

Public comment ends this week for a permit needed for a high-profile oil pipeline project in northern Wisconsin. Opponents, including tribal voices, as well as supporters, have laid out recent organizing efforts ahead of an application decision. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will eventually decide on an environmental permit sought by Canadian firm Enbridge to re-route a section of its Line 5 pipeline around the Bad River Reservation. Tribal leaders have been engaged in a legal fight with the company over its existing line, which currently covers 12 miles of reservation land.

Gussie Lord, Earthjustice managing attorney of the Tribal Partnerships Program, represents the tribe and says the new plan fails to ease concerns.

"We know that this reroute is not a solution. It's a false solution to the dangers of the current pipeline. In fact, it really extends the dangers of the pipeline and increases the threat of a devastating oil spill, both to the Bad River Reservation's watershed and Lake Superior watershed," Lord explained.

Her group and other environmental organizations say more than 150,000 comments are being submitted that reflect these concerns. A separate coalition of labor, business and agricultural groups says it gathered roughly 14,000 signatures in support of the re-route. Ahead of public comment closing tomorrow, the coalition sent a letter arguing the construction would be a big economic win, with the new line aiding regional propane supplies.

Some supporters tout the potential jobs and related benefits.

Jason Wilhite, activism team lead with the outdoor apparel company Patagonia, contends any major spill could harm water recreation and all the business activity it creates.

"Put simply, a rupture of the Line 5 pipeline would have a devastating impact on our regional economy," he explained.

In an emailed statement, Enbridge said it's committed to extensive protective measures to minimize and mitigate project impacts. Tribal advocates say they are especially worried about the potential effect on wild rice beds. It's not clear when the Army Corps of Engineers will decide on the application. Other permits are needed for the proposed re-route.


get more stories like this via email

A new project is set to help North Carolina communities address environmental justice and climate equity.

The city of Charlotte, in collaboration with environmental groups, is launching the GreenPrints Initiative - to promote sustainable housing, improve air quality and develop green infrastructure in under-resourced neighborhoods.

CleanAIRE NC is among the key organizations involved.

According to the group's community engagement coordinator Kennedy Williams, the initiative's goal is to address the lack of sustainability and educate communities that need it the most - and are often overlooked.

"A lot of people are experiencing issues related to climate change that they don't know what climate change is or necessarily what sustainability looks like," said Williams. "So making sure that we're introducing sustainability and then also making sure that every aspect of every resident's lifestyle has sustainability at its core."

Williams explained that much of the initiative's efforts will be concentrated in what are known as the Opportunity Corridors of Beatties Ford Road and Freedom Drive, as well as Wilkinson Boulevard.

These areas have been identified as priorities for the deployment of sustainable solutions and community engagement.

A key component of the GreenPrints Initiative is air-quality monitoring, a project spearheaded by CleanAIRE NC.

Williams said sensors will be placed throughout the target neighborhoods to provide valuable data to community members, nonprofits and regulatory agencies.

"Low-cost air pollution sensors will be distributed to air keepers, who are basically like volunteer community members who are interested in maintaining air monitoring," said Williams. "The data from these sensors will be available through CleanAIRE's air-keeper dashboard, and this will really help better understand their geographic data and also their environmental data."

Williams noted that the GreenPrints Initiative is not just about implementing changes but also about listening to the community.

CleanAIRE NC plans to hold a forum on October 19 to gather input from residents about their sustainability concerns and priorities, ensuring that the initiative meets the needs of those most affected.




get more stories like this via email