Lotakis honored in Kitsap Sun’s ‘20 Under 40’

PHC/Asani CEO, Greg Lotakis joins august company as a “20 Under 40” honoree for 2015.

The annual awards, sponsored by the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal and Kitsap Sun newspaper, recognizes “the best and brightest young business leaders who make Kitsap a greater place to live, work and play.”

Honorees were feted at a gala evening this week at Bremerton’s Admiral Theatre. Author and motivational speaker Dan Weedin offered a stimulating address on leadership preceding the introduction of winners.

 “It is an honor to be considered and selected for Kitsap Sun’s ‘20 Under 40’ for 2015,” Greg says. “I continue to find myself surrounded by amazing people – coworkers, friends, and family. I am truly grateful for them and know my success is tied to their support of me. My congratulations to the other nominees and selected candidates. Here’s to a bright future for our communities.”

Greg is profiled in a special print and online section for honorees. Find out more about Greg and read his comments on leadership here.

Congratulations to Greg for this great honor, and thanks to the Kitsap Sun and Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal for recognizing his great contributions.

PHC/Asani earns another Built Green Hammer award for Grow Community

For the second straight year, Grow Community and PHC Construction have earned the prestigious Built Green Hammer Award.

Sponsored by the Master Builders Association, the awards recognize outstanding, environmentally sustainable residential projects. Grow Community earned top honors in the Builder, Multifamily 1-50 Units category.
 
The award was presented this week at the annual Built Green Conference at Shoreline Community College. 

“We’re doubly proud to win a Built Green Hammer Award for the second straight year,” said PHC’s Marty Sievertson. “Our goal has always been to show what’s possible in top-quality, environmentally conscious construction. As Grow Community’s second phase, the Grove, sees occupancy this fall, we think buyers will really appreciate the care we’ve put into the project and that the Master Builders have recognized once again.”

Added Greg Lotakis, project manager for developer Asani:

 “This award means a great deal to us because the Master Builders organization and Built Green program are local. We compete with the very best builders in our region for Built Green recognition, and all the builders involved provide support and encouragement to each other to help move our industry toward a sustainable future.”

The Built Green program is designed to help buyers find quality, affordable homes that protect the health of their families and the Northwest environment. Built Green homes are designed to provide homeowners with comfortable, durable, environmentally friendly homes that are cost-effective to own and maintain.

For more information, see builtgreen.net. 

Going up, and going fast at Grow Community: Only 8 homes left for November move-in

Fall is rapidly approaching, and only eight homes remain for November move-in at the Grove (Grow Community, phase 2). More homes will be available for early spring 2016 move-in.

Homebuyers come to Grow looking for community, and through the dust and noise of the summer construction, they can see our vision – and they want to be a part of it.

Buyers who reserved their homes a year ago are now going into contract. It won’t be long until they’re living in their new homes! On the horizon: final floor plans for the Tsuga, the last building in the Grove neighborhood.

Homes are still available for sale and will be ready for move-in early Spring 2016. Watch for more exciting announcements as Grow Community phase 2, the Grove, continues to take shape.

August Construction Update: Under every roof, a different story. Sometimes the roof is the story.

Work proceeds apace around the Grow phase 2 worksite this month, with eight buildings underway and in different stages of completion. Framing, drywall and roofing are the story at the Salal, Juniper and Elan buildings, those closest to occupancy projected for this fall.

At the Tsuga, the concrete deck will be completed the first week of September with framing to follow. Three of four single-family homes now have their foundations and floors ready to go, again with framing to begin soon. In the middle of it all, we’re about to begin grading for the Grove, our newest neighborhood’s signature central greenway.

We’re excited to begin planting this beautiful space, the centerpiece of Grow Community phase 2.

Grow Community a paragon of the ‘New Urbanism,’ Professional Builder magazine says

Public engagement, eco-friendly designs, affordable options, and diversity of home styles and offerings are hallmarks of the New Urbanism, the most significant planning movement of recent times.

Grow Community is a paragon of this forward-thinking ethos, Professional Builder magazine says in its new issue.

 In the article “The Seaside Effect” (a nod to the first New Urbanist community, Seaside, built in Florida in 1980), Pro Builder fetes Grow for such enlightened features as shared pea-patch gardens, energy-efficient construction and rooftop solar power.

Proximity to Winslow town center – just a 5-minute walk from the heart of the neighborhood – allowed project designers and now residents to move beyond the demands of an automobile-centric lifestyle, toward healthier and more sustainable alternatives.

“We didn’t need to provide anything other than a residential fabric,” Jonathan Davis, Grow’s phase 1 architect, tells the magazine.

Read more about how Grow Community measures up to New Urbanist principles in Professional Builder’s July 2015 edition here - see pages 30-35.

New outlines on the Winslow skyline are the shape of progress at Grow Community

Construction on Grow Community’s new phase, the Grove, is moving onward – and upward. The Salal building’s third floor has taken shape, with roof work starting very soon. Next door at the Elan, the second floor is under way.

Concrete work continues elsewhere on the site, the Juniper building is all but complete while the walls, footings and pouring of the Woodland Homes and Tsuga are now well underway.

 With the hot, dry weather of summer upon us, our crews are watering down the site periodically to minimize dust – definitely a challenge, so we ask residents’ and neighbors’ forbearance.

For all the activity around the site, our crews are running up an impressive safety record – 15,000 hours (and counting) without an injury.

Bainbridge Museum of Art Construction Timelapse

Grow now the standard lifestyle of the future

Grow Community as the new standard for future living? You bet.

Grow’s award-winning, net-zero neighborhood will be showcased at Living Future 2015, the annual conference of the International Living Future Institute.

Jonathan Davis, architect for Grow’s first phase, the Village, and project manager Greg Lotakis will be featured speakers at the conference, which runs April 1-3 at the Sheraton in Seattle.

Their presentation is titled “A Built Environment Sets the Stage for Creation of Community.”

“Creating a (successful) community is not a certainty — the ultimate success of it depends on the people who choose to live there,” conference organizers say. “How do you create this place where people WANT to live? Learn how the design of the net-zero energy Grow Community on Bainbridge Island creates the basis for a shared sense of purpose, brings residents together toward common lifestyle goals and creates a strong sense of place and connection within a neighborhood.”

Living Future is a forum for leading minds in the green building movement seeking solutions to the most daunting global issues of our time. Out-of-the-ordinary learning and networking formats provide innovative design strategies, cutting-edge technical information and the inspiration needed to achieve significant progress toward a truly Living Future.

The Grow Community presentation runs 3:15-4:45 p.m. April 2.


Click here for more details

ULI finds Grow Community on its roadmap to healthy neighborhoods

The Urban Land Institute has drawn up its roadmap for healthy development, and Grow Community is a prominent waypoint.



Grow is cited twice in the “Building Health Places Toolkit: Strategies for Enhancing Health in the Built Environment,” an expansive new report on sustainable planning and construction from the ULI. The report looks at developments and communities that have been successful in promoting physical activity, healthy food and clean drinking water, and general social well-being.

Grow’s famous community gardens and “edible landscaping” are cited as a prime amenity in today’s urban and suburban planning.

“Participation in community gardening activities can increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, and when community members come together around the growing of food, the interaction promotes social bonds and connections,” the editors write. “Local produce helps reduce pollution associated with shipping food long distances.”

The ULI notes that gardening has enjoyed a growing popularity across the country, a trend that is expected to continue: “Small farms can take the place of golf courses as community centerpieces, can cost less on an upfront and ongoing basis, and can provide community members with fresh, locally grown food.”

Grow is also touted for earning certification under the One Planet Living program, whose ambitious 10-point goals promote reducing humans’ impact on the earth. You can read all about Grow’s impressive One Planet designation elsewhere on our website.

“Reading a report” might not sound like the most scintillating springtime activity, but the ULI’s new “Building Healthy Places Toolkit” will surprise you – we promise. It’s a very colorful read, and highlights the most forward-thinking work being done in planning and construction today.

View the report here (page 48 online & 40 in print) and find out more about the sustainable vision that earned Grow Community recognition among the very best new neighborhoods anywhere.

Seattle Magazine touts Grow for affordable green living

Seattle Magazine’s special “Best Affordable Neighborhoods” edition is on newsstands now, and Grow Community makes the cut among the area’s best bargains.

In a helpful write-up called “How To Buy Your Dream House In a Competitive Market,” the magazine touts Grow as a premier choice for today’s eco-conscious buyers.

Grow was designed to create an intergenerational urban community that “makes sustainable choices both available and affordable,” Seattle Magazine notes.

The magazine cites Grow’s ultra-efficient, 5-Star Built Green–certified construction, the energy- and cost-saving perk of solar power, and our famous shared community gardens. Sixty percent of homes in our next two phases, the Grove and the Park, will be accessible for intergenerational living.
Read the whole article at www.seattlemag.com.

“It will be a challenge,” Seattle Magazine writes, “but even in the most competitive market, you can snag the perfect house and come out a winner.”

Yes you can – and we’ll help. To learn more about purchase opportunities at Grow Community, email live@growbainbridge.com, or visit our sales office at 180 Olympic Drive SE, just a few steps up from the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal.

100 percent and a gold star – Grow aces the solar test

Already the largest solar neighborhood in Washington state, Grow Community hit another milestone this week.

With the completion of two more solar installations, every single-family home and duplex in Grow’s first phase, the Village, is now powered by photovoltaics.

PV systems numbers 22 and 23 are online and producing renewable energy, improving the neighborhood’s already stellar self-sufficiency while promising generous utility savings and financial returns for the homeowners.

 “It’s a landmark moment for Grow Community and Washington solar,” says Greg Lotakis, project manager. “With 100 percent participation, our residents are really showing the way forward for neighborhoods that want to choose solar for a sustainable energy future.”

Grow’s next two phases, the Grove and the Park, will also offer the solar option. Stay tuned for more details.

PHC/Asani Earns the Prestigious Platinum Award from NAHB for Grow Community!

Grow Community built by Bainbridge-based PHC Construction and developed by Asani, has earned the prestigious Platinum Award from the National Association of Home Builders, in its 2014 Best of American Living contest.

The sustainable, solar-powered neighborhood received top honors in the Green Community category.

As the oldest and most prestigious national design award program in the residential construction industry, the Best in American Living Awards spotlights the most creative and innovative projects from around the nation.



The award was presented at the NAHB International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas this week.

Grow Community is the first development in Kitsap County, Wash., ever to win the NAHB’s Platinum Award distinction, and PHC is the first Kitsap builder to hold the award.

“The Platinum Award is an outstanding honor, and one we’re very pleased to receive,” said Marty Sievertson, president of PHC Construction. “To be acknowledged among the nation’s very best residential projects really speaks well to every facet of Grow, from concept to design to construction.”

What a great honor for our whole Grow/PHC/Asani/Davis team!

You can read the full news release here.

View the award on the NAHB website here.