Density Bonus for Solar-Powered Grow Community, Bainbridge, WA

Asani LLC is based on Bainbridge Island, a community which is a hotbed of leadership in the green building movement.  So for the developer, going for a deep green project was in their ethos, the type of project they were looking for.  Greg Lotakis, Project Manager says “We live here, wanted to do something spectacular on Bainbridge.”

Yet they knew from experience that a green certified project is hard to sell to investors, leery of all the complex requirements of the HDDP incentive.  Without the incentive allowing them to add more units to the base zoning density, the financial aspects of the project more difficult.

They made practical compromises to achieve the highest environmental performance, quality of life and affordability they could while making it a profitable development. For example, instead of striving for HDDP’s optional (at the time) affordable housing target, they instead focused on housing diversity including rental units, so people who maybe couldn’t afford to buy, could access the community for under $1,000 / mo.

Energy Efficiency

The homes are all highly insulated, air tight, and all-electric; most have solar power bringing some homes to “net zero energy” while others are within 10 to 20% of “net-zero energy” depending on occupant behavior (i.e. homes that produce all the energy they use). Systems within each home that contribute to this result – include all LED light fixtures, air-to-air electric heat pumps, heat pump hot water heaters, and heat recovery ventilation for whole house air exchange.  The below grade parking in Phase 2 allowed more innovation in air‐to‐air heat pump technology with integrated water heating “plants” for each of the multi‐family buildings, increasing water heating efficiency by as much as 300%.  The multi-family buildings’ energy performance is being studied through a grant-funded partnership with Bonneville Power Administration and EcoTope a mechanical engineering firm.

Solar Energy Innovations

To become the largest Solar Community in Washington, Grow had to use creative methods for designing and selling a solar option to owners – partnering with manufacturers, a preferred installer and Puget Sound Credit Union to provide secondary financing.  The package included as little as $0 down, fixed rate, and automatic application of the annual production incentive so the bill pays itself. This offered homebuyers an “easy button” to choose Solar.  During the first phase, 100% of the new single family home owners chose the solar option and 23 systems were installed on as many housing units, totaling more than 130 kW.

For the “Salal” multifamily building, the development team took a chance on an innovative approach, pooling the buying power of the individual condo owners to install a 44kW solar system serving the entire building through one meter, with private submeters that track each of the individual units energy use. By including partial ownership of the solar array to each condo owner within the building declarations, they were able to create “undivided fractional interest” in the system making each owner eligible for the full state incentive payment up to the $5,000/year cap.  See WA Dept. of Revenue Excise Tax Advisory 3197.2015 for more information.  As of early 2017 there is more than 300 kW within all phases of Grow Community.

This wasn’t the first project to go through the HDDP process, but is so far the most complex.  Lotakis described a collaborative process in which developers, designers, and City staff learned together by doing it.  “As a developer unless you’ve gone through it, can be a little daunting” says Lotakis, “meeting the HDDP tier structure, housing diversity requirements, green certification, etc.  We rely a lot on a collaborative working relationship with the City, continuity of working with the same staff person from beginning to end of a multi-year project, to help us meet all their goals for HDDP and our goals for the project.”

A Micro Agri-Hood

They also benefited from a group of supportive investors who shared a vision for a deep green community, and took inspiration from “pocket neighborhoods” designed by architect Ross Chapin and others in Europe.

The project has several phases and created several design experiences that are all tied together by the underlying theme of Community.  Jonathan Davis with Davis Architecture Studio, was hired by the project owners to design the first phase, a beautiful 23-unit single family and 20 unit multi-family “pocket neighborhood” with featuring shared courtyards and parking on the perimeter.  They have a lot of community open space, raingardens and vegetable gardens integrated as amenities.  In Phases 2 & 3 much of the design was completed by Cutler Anderson Architects, who were challenged with maximizing open space, increasing one-level living through multi-family, and pushing the cars further from the day to day by getting them in below grade parking structures.  Finally, Hartman Architecture and Design was brought on to help the team complete the Community Center and last multi-family building – incorporating all elements of design aesthetic while delivering efficient, yet elegant solutions to the projects final design needs.

Ultimately, incentives like the HDDP are designed to shift an industry toward affordability and energy efficiency.  With willing developers this can add value and improve financials with increased density in areas designed for such growth.  With these incentives do come increased conditions and deliverables so it remains important that design and development teams are knowledgeable, efficient, and establish a shared vision for the project early.  Additional federal and state incentives for solar were organized by the development team to align solar product manufacturers, installers, and financial lenders so each home owner is given the opportunity to purchase solar after move in of their home with very short payback (~5 to 6 years). The PV for each home is grid‐tied with net metering support by the local utility provider (Puget Sound Energy – PSE).

The Grow Community project success relies on many variables.  Some are unique to what is being done at Grow.  Others are common to real estate.  “Location, understanding your market, and having supportive ‘comparables’ still represent the foundational elements of Real Estate that you must be attentive to for success” says Lotakis.

• BMIC 2.16.020 - Scroll to Subsec. Q

• Final-BG-Verification-Letter-Bldg-E-F-1.pdf
• Grow-Staff-Report-to-the-Director.pdf

• 2009 Housing Design Demonstration Policy, Bainbridge Island, WA
• Grow Community Website
• Grow Community Summary Report 2014-2015
• One Planet Living Annual Verification Report