Monday, 4:30am, 1/12/09
I could not sleep. The energy percolated through the room where Lenoir, NC planned its first steps to launch a green neighborhood development in the first half of 2009.
Concerned residents who reside on the Cedar Rock Country Club in Lenoir have hosted a series of pivotal engagements this week on the topic of StarCross Eco-Village, Plymouth Road, Lenoir. A refreshing spirit of local rebuilding and a joyful confidence flowed through the rooms of this private residence on three consecutive dates.
Has this grassroots movement become contagious? As Mike W. played the harp he warmed the room better than any heating system… a divine intervention perhaps?
Here is what I have observed in this past week: 24 earnest local residents, three non-profit organizations, one county college sustainability institute, and two local bankers who have showed me that the people of Lenoir are hungry to reverse this economic downturn. An eco-businessman from Asheville suggested that Western North Carolina is ready for the first green neighborhood development since the highly acclaimed Westwood Estates in the Asheville area was built ten years ago.
Local planning official Chuck Beatty, Mayor David Barlow, and others with the help of entrepreneurs, expert energy planners, engineers and designers across the state have toiled in an effort to make this innovative project happen during the worst housing slump in modern history.
We digress with a bit of encouraging prose from a confident anonymous author: “From the dark clouds the sun will rise to breathe hope into the hearts and minds of an earnest people.”
Now back to the log of recent events. It has only been two days since Jim and Jon, bankers at the local thrift, Parkway Bank met with this developer to encourage what we hope are the first steps to financing the road and to leading local financial institutions in sustainable neighborhood development.
Many successful real estate developer acquaintances I have come to know these past 25 years typically succeed at planning neighborhood building ventures because they purchase land when prices are low. However, that is a bygone era. Stick built homes are now referred to as ‘legacy developments’ because of obsolete design. A new world of much higher energy standards is young and growing.
One industry Lenoir could hold securely in its hands for many decades is the emerging green building industry if a well-conceived landmark sustainable neighborhood development thrives citywide. Planners have made a strenuous effort to use renewable energy equipment and low environmental building science as the new standard and not as optional features. Hold onto your hat.
Contact Julie or Gil at gstarble@starcrossvillage.com – and prepare to enjoy the ride.