We will equip the Phase 2 homes with the latest energy-efficiency technology and add features to make updating to future technologies easier. For this, we are following the Department of Energy’s Efficient New Home program, which treats the whole home as a cohesive system and has specific energy requirements for all of the main components of a house that contribute to its efficiency.

During the many months of installing roads, water systems, and sewer systems and then excavating homesites and pouring foundations, visible progress was slow and not too dramatic. That has all changed now that the framers have gotten to work.​

Thanks to the stretch of warm, sunny days, construction on the 14 Phase 2 homes is moving quickly. Utilities are almost all in place, most of the foundations have been poured, and three of our charming 1,100 sf Juniper cottage-homes are framed.

With building permits now in hand, we have been able to begin installing foundations for Phase 2 homes. This is a critical step in the homebuilding process because any movement or issues with the foundation can affect the house built on top of it in many (expensive) ways.

Living in community is full of opportunities to come together. We work together, we have fun together, we grow together and we at Heartwood certainly know how to celebrate together. Fall into Winter has all of that and plenty of it.

In order to keep costs down, we need to make selections for almost all of our home options and upgrades by October 31. Our builder, Mike Sutter, can then order materials and lock in pricing. Options and upgrades include home features such as kitchen sinks, countertops, cabinets, and solar energy systems.

I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as a member of the Heartwood Phase 2 development team! My name is Colton Wanner and I’m the Assistant Project Manager for Phase 2, bringing my experience in construction and real estate to the table to help Mac ensure that we can deliver the highest-quality homes with as few hiccups along the way as possible. 

On June 14th Heartwood celebrated its 25th Anniversary. Twenty-five years ago the first Heartwood members were able to move into their brand new homes.

Heartwood's Phase 2 is now under construction. The excitement is off the charts. We will soon be welcoming 14 new households into our community. Will you be one of them?

Living in intentional community has many perks. Connections are desired, shared values and shared work carry us through, and support is there when needed. But nothing is quite as exquisite as the beauty of several generations interacting with each other on a daily basis. 

It's a very special spring this year as we are preparing to break ground on 14 new homes here at Heartwood. As construction draws near, there's been a noticeable surge in excitement.

“So, everywhere I was invited to speak, I offered an invitation to ‘slow down’, which seems like the wrong thing to do when there’s fire on the mountain.”

The last time I wrote, we were hoping to be able to announce the hiring of our Phase 2 builder. We were fortunate to have many good local builders to choose from. We ended up selecting Sutter Homes because of their integrity and reputation and their vast experience in green building and building economically at scale. We are very excited to be partnering with Sutter Homes!

In general, homes are hard to come by at Heartwood, but we’re adding a long-planned-for “Phase 2” with 14 new homes in 2025. This is a unique opportunity to get the benefits of a new home in a well established community.

This is an updated version of the essay I wrote in 1995 when first envisioning our community. It amazes me how much of the vision became reality.

This article about Heartwood Cohousing was written shortly after we moved in almost 20 years ago, but the story of why we chose to create and live at Heartwood is as true today as it ever was.