Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage Hits Major Milestone
This July, six residents of our Belfast Cohousing project began moving into their homes. Twenty-seven of the thirty-six units have been purchased, and three duplexes and one triplex have so far been completed. We’re on track to complete another six units by year’s end. The Belfast Cohousing and Ecovillage is a first-of-its-kind, Passive House level community in North America, as well as the largest residential development currently being constructed in Maine. The project is an ongoing collaboration between GO Logic and Belfast Cohousing. The project took shape in 2007 when a group of individuals formed the original Belfast Cohousing group. They joined together with the goal of creating a development that would demonstrate smart growth and sustainable principles, and be a replicable model for other communities to emulate across the country. The group leapt into action when a 170 acre piece of prime farmland came onto the market and a founding member was able to purchase it and thus save it from being chopped up into standard, energy-inefficient housing developments. The group purchased 42 acres of the 170 acres on which it designed and is building the community. This is an important project for G-O Logic and is a phenomenal example of what can be achieved utilizing sustainable building principals. On this project, our goal has been to preserve farmland while demonstrating a smart growth model, based on compact development principals, coupled with low energy buildings, all while building at costs comparable to standard residential construction. In addition to developing the site plan and the design of the residential units, G-O Logic is the general contractor on the project. This capability to both design and build our projects is a large part of how we are able to build homes of this caliber for near standard residential construction prices. From the design standpoint, we were focused on providing a seamless integration of the community with its infrastructure needs, and the natural beauty of the rural landscape’s rolling topography. We broke from cohousing development precedent and oriented the housing to maximize solar benefit to the degree possible while still allowing for a neighborhood feel with houses placed opposite each other on a pedestrian path. The placement of the common house on the central green, and the pedestrian paths throughout the community, encouraging meaningful opportunities for interaction. The homes themselves are designed and built utilizing the techniques, materials, and craft that we honed on our award winning, Passive House certified GO Home. The super-insulated building shell and slab-on-grade construction, along with German-made triple glazed windows, a heat recovery ventilation system, and intelligently designed passive and active solar-based mechanical systems all add up to a home that is 80%- 90% more energy-efficient than one built with standard construction practices. Not only are we doing it at a cost comparable to standard construction, but the long-term savings are enormous. We’ve calculated that over a thirty year period, a house similar to our GO Home would save its homeowner at least $170,000. There are still units in the Belfast Cohousing and Ecovillage available for purchase. Call 207.338.9200 for information, and check back here often for more information, photos, etc. 
You can read more blog posts about our Belfast Cohousing and Ecovillage project here.
