Macrobiotics Today, March/April 1995, Vol. 35, No. 2
"Developing a Macrobiotic Housing Community" Carol Bronw Eilber and Charles Eilber
For all those following the progress of our macrobiotic housing community, we have news: We've bought 20 acres of prime land. Suddenly the community is real, and we have a million things to do at once.
Two years ago, we set out to create a macrobiotic housing community in the Triangle region - Durham, Chapel Hill, Raleigh - of North Carolina. Now with the purchase of the land, the location and the size of the community are evident. And we have a name: SOLTERRA. The large size of the property not only opens up many new site design possibilities, but it also enables us to include a broader diversity among families and individuals who will join the community. We seek others who believe that sharing in a community where living with the sun and earth as touchstones can lead to a fuller life. Macrobiotics will continue to be a focus for many of us, but having a larger community now will make a more comfortable arrangement for families in which not every member follows a macrobiotic diet. You'll see how we have planned for that later in this article.
We began writing articles for Macrobiotics Today (see March/April and July/August 1994 issues) to attract people to our community and to provide information for others wanting to develop similar communities elsewhere. We hope that many communities with a focus on macrobiotics will develop to give us a network for interactions worldwide.
The following from our Prospectus tells where we are now and shows some ways that our plans have evolved since the size of the land is double what we originally envisioned.
SOLTERRA; A solar community devoted to fullness of life for its members and for the land. SOLTERRA provides the opportunity too often lost in modern life - to live in a community where sharing is a way of life, and where the enjoyment of a pleasant living environment extends to natural pathways, organic gardens, and recreation areas with the classic restored Farmhouse as the center of community activities.
SOLTERRA recognizes that individuals and families have needs for privacy and for community. We seek to create the best features of small-town living by designing a community that promotes friendships among adults and children with shared activities to enrich the lives of all.
Such activities as attending voluntary community dinners on week nights can help reduce the stresses of daily living and give families more free time together when they only need to take their turn at preparing a community dinner once every few weeks. People living alone can experience the family atmosphere of the evening meals. And in other ways we can help each other. Should school suddenly be called off and the children sent home early, residents can keep an eye on the kids until their working parents return.
The individual homes, facing onto the village green, will incorporate private backyards for times of privacy and family activities. Provision of guest rooms in the Farmhouse means that individual homes can be smaller.
Our philosophy is earth friendly, encouraging the building of solar homes and planting of organic landscaping and gardens.
As Part of a Larger Community; Located on 20 acres in Western Durham County, at the corner of Erwin Road and Randolph Road, SOLTERRA is a prime example of the three most important attributes of a real estate development - "location, location, location." But more significantly, its location and the pleasant combination of meadows, hardwood forest and a stand of young pines provide an opportunity for living experiences that rarely can be found in residential developments: privacy when privacy is important, interaction with neighbors when participation in the life of the community adds satisfaction, and an easy reach to enjoy the many resources of the wider community of Durham, Chapel Hill, and the Research Triangle Region.
A new public elementary school is diagonally across the road. Private schools within a short drive are the Emerson Waldorf School, the Duke School for Children Middle School, Carolina Friends School, and Durham Academy.
One boundary of SOLTERRA adjoins a section of Duke Forest leading to hiking trails open to the public. A swim and racquet club with open memberships is across the road. Other nearby property is zoned residential and is developed with attractive homes and neighborhoods.
Duke University and its world-renowned medical center is just 3 miles away. In addition to degree programs, the university offers continuing education and learning in retirement opportunities, lectures, concerts, and an eighteen hole golf course. South Square Mall, a major shopping center is a short drive as are fine health food markets in Durham and Chapel Hill.
A newly planned bicycle path will pass within a mile and will extend for 23 miles from Jordan Lake Recreation area in the south, to the Eno River State Park in the north. SOLTERRA residents may enjoy participating in various aspects of its development. For access to the rest of the world two Interstate Highways (I-40 and I-85) are within a few miles.
Its Own Community; The site design encourages community life. With a combination of full-width roads and narrower access lanes, all vehicle traffic and parking will be around the perimeter of each of three "village greens." Within that outer perimeter, homes will circle the green and residents will have direct pedestrian access to it for socializing with neighbors and strolling to the Farmhouse to pick up the mail, enjoy a cup of tea, and join in the voluntary shared dinners, interest groups, or conversation. Because the homesites are deliberately laid out to be compact, but private, the remaining land can be devoted to the Farmhouse, community gardens, play space, walking paths with exercise stations at intervals, buffers of natural vegetation, and an attractive entryway to the community.
The Farmhouse is the central feature of the community, both symbolically and practically. The former home of the Pickett family is a classic example of a nineteenth century North Carolina farmhouse. Renovations will preserve the architectural integrity of the building while adapting it to the needs of the SOLTERRA family as a center for community activities. The north side, facing Erwin Road, and the east and west sides with their encircling verandahs will preserve the original facade. The south side facing the common areas of the community will have added to it a large sunny dining/meeting room configured with flexible partitions to accommodate activities. The design of the addition will compliment the style of the house.
A dual kitchen, serving usually as two kitchens, will permit separate preparation of foods for persons following macrobiotic diets from those with broader diets.
The Farmhouse also will include an office/meeting room, a children's activities room, a laundry, two guest bedrooms, and a room for various uses to be determined by the community members.
Around the Farmhouse, over an acre will provide outdoor facilities for eating and socializing, a play area for small children, resident's mailboxes, and parking for Farmhouse visitors. The farm well, about 100 feet from the Farmhouse, will be tested and, if the water is found pure, will be equipped to enable residents to draw fresh well water for drinking and cooking.
Homesites; Approximately 39 homesites will cluster around three "village greens" connected by pedestrian pathways leading to the Farmhouse. All homesites will be accessible by car. Visitors will park at strategic locations. Every homesite can access the Farmhouse and the village greens by paths which do not cross any road.
The relatively compact lots (ranging from 5500 square feet up to 8000) free up at least 50 percent of the total property for recreation, gardening, playgrounds, natural buffers, paths, and roads.
Covenants and architectural codes will maintain a consistent design philosophy emphasizing natural exterior materials, earth-tone colors, and compatibility of facades and roof lines conducive to passive solar heating.
Selective clearing of trees and placement of homes will permit optimum southern exposure for capturing solar energy. Homes built on the open meadows will be provided with a few shade trees. Residents will be encouraged to minimize the area of their sites devoted to lawn and to use other ground covers.
Utilities including city water and sewers, electricity, gas, telephone, and cable TV will reach each lot underground.
While the community will reflect an atmosphere of naturalness and simplicity, the design and installation of the communications lines will incorporate the best technology. The telephone company and the local cable TV company will be invited to install the latest lines and equipment to accommodate multimedia voice, image, and data transmission. The goal is to network the community internally and with the world to permit programs such as an astronomer from Duke University providing a seminar in the Farmhouse meeting room using images transmitted live from the Hubbell Telescope.
Homes; Homes can be smaller than are usually found in similar developments because of the extension of activities into the common areas and the availability of guest bedrooms in the Farmhouse. Each home must include a minimum of eight hundred square feet of enclosed space.
Selected architects and builders experienced in designing and building energy efficient solar homes will provide stock plans or custom designs and will construct the homes. Although each home will be the responsibility of its owners, attempts will be made to coordinate construction of groups of homes to achieve some economy of labor and purchase of materials.
Homes will incorporate many features to conserve energy including high efficiency windows, low energy backup heating and cooling equipment, air exchangers to keep the interiors fresh while capturing the heat from exhaust air, and direct intake of combustion air for gas furnaces and fireplaces.
Research on non-toxic building materials and finishes will assure healthy interiors, and on the outside, building contractors are expected to minimize the impact of the construction process on the environment by collecting, storing, and disposing of waste materials properly, by protecting trees and other vegetation, and by the careful routing and use of vehicles and heavy equipment.
Local banks will provide financing which reduces closing costs by combining construction loans and mortgages.
People; SOLTERRA seeks a population diverse in every way, knowing that everyone grows by learning from each other. We welcome people with interests to share in cooking, music, gardening, dancing, surfing the Internet, woodworking, the visual arts, story-telling, meetings facilitation, newsletter writing, or the simple art of relaxed conversation. We expect that many members of the community will be committed to a macrobiotic diet.
Financing; The formation of a North Carolina limited liability company provides the necessary legal and financial structure to develop the project. Introductory discussions have been held with officials in the Durham City-County Planning Department and the Engineering Department, with financial advisors and other professionals, and with a local bank. Carol Brown Eilber and Charles R. Eilber, will coordinate the development process through the LLC and will employ the services of experts in all aspects of the project - legal, financial, accounting, site planning and engineering, marketing and sales, home design and construction. The Eilbers also will be investors and purchasers of a lot for their own use.
The development and sale of lots is underway. A separate prospectus is available with full details of purchase opportunities for interested persons. Land such as this is at a premium both as to availability and price. Unlike many other developments of prime land, however, the fact that this project will permit homes which can be relatively small, but of high quality, means that the total cost of lot and house will still be within reach of most people desiring to build a new home.
Joining the Community; With our community coming closer to reality, we invite all those who are interested to write or call and to plan a visit at any time. We will also be hosting conferences for purchasers of homesites at various times to provide group activities and planning for community living. For information or to arrange a tour of the project site, contact:
Carol Brown Eilber Triangle Housing Community, LLC P.O. Box 2755 Durham, NC 27715 919-383-4265 FAX 919-383-7098 Internet:71167.2716@compuserve.com
End of Article
Author bio-statement: Carol Brown Eilber and Charles Eilber are the developers of SOLTERRA. They serve on the board of the Triangle Macrobiotics Association, Inc., and Carol edits the Triangle Macrobiotics newsletter.
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