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Sadly, but not entirely surprisingly, one of our committed Phase 2 households has decided not to move to Heartwood after all. Their daughter's family (including the most adorable granddaughter you'd ever care to meet) recently moved in next door to them and they now cannot bear the idea of moving away. When I say “not entirely surprisingly”, it has nothing to do with them. It speaks to the general reality of creating a cohousing community, which is that many wonderful people get involved, but inevitably life happens and some of them will choose a different path. It’s one of the bittersweet aspects of creating a community. So while we are saddened by the loss of those wonderful people, it creates an opportunity to bring other wonderful people to Heartwood. If you have been disappointed because Phase 2 filled up last fall, this could be your opportunity. Additionally, with recent trends showing that the spread of the coronavirus is declining, we have decided to reopen our common house guest rooms to visitors starting in April. If you're interested in a greater sense of peace and belonging in your life and a healthier lifestyle fostered by living in community and close to Nature, we invite you to get involved. You might want to check out these webpages:  Laurie and Julie share a laugh at our annual retreat this past weekend. Recent Progress We've recently received easements from three very neighborly neighbors, which will allow us to build an emergency access road to satisfy county approval requirements. That's an important step in our work to obtain Preliminary Plat approval. Every month we hold Zoom gatherings for our committed Phase 2 Homebuyers. During recent gatherings, we have begun a training series on communication and consensus. Since most of us grew up in the mainstream culture, we generally didn't get much exposure to those skills. As we approach the challenging work of designing Phase 2 homes together and then living in community together, improving those skills will be extremely valuable. And we tend to have a lot of fun and get to know each other on a deeper level during those training sessions. Another thing we're doing to prepare for Phase 2 home design is extensive research into all sorts of construction technologies to make our homes more environmentally friendly and affordable. Our newly formed Construction Alternatives team has been researching photovoltaic solar systems, EV charging systems, low carbon wall systems, etc, etc, etc. The Phase 1 homes we built over 20 years ago have turned out to be very high quality and environmentally friendly. We intend to do even better in Phase 2.  The Path Ahead Our primary work in the coming months will be to submit our Preliminary Plat application. The application will include details of our site plan and infrastructure (roads, water, sewer, parking, drainage, etc.) – lots of decisions to be made and work to be done. Our plan is to complete all of our design work and obtain all of our approvals this year so we're ready to break ground in early 2023. Now that we have a spot open in Phase 2, we will put more energy into marketing, but with the extremely strong interest in Heartwood, it seems likely that that spot will be taken soon.  Most of our retreat was held on Zoom, but that didn't keep us from deepening our connections with each other and celebrating the community we've created together. Getting Involved With our guest rooms soon to reopen and spring arriving, this is a great time to visit Heartwood. We are also resuming our 4th Friday Happy Hours on April 22. So if you happen to be in the area, come by and say hello. If you're interested in a greater sense of peace and belonging in your life and a healthier lifestyle fostered by living in community and close to Nature, we invite you to get involved. There are currently no homes for sale or rent in Phase 1, but we do have one spot available in Phase 2. To learn more, go to our About Phase 2 webpage. Click here to go to our Plan a Visit webpage or click here to send an email to Sandy. She can help you reserve one of our common house guest rooms. With the very limited opportunities to buy or rent a home at Heartwood, staying subscribed to these newsletters is your best way to learn about available homes. When home sale, rental, or housesitting opportunities come up, we will announce them here in our newsletter. As always, if you have any questions, simply reply to this email. We're happy to answer any and all inquiries. We've posted answers to frequently asked questions on the Phase 2 FAQ page and also the general FAQ page. Yours in Community,
Mac Phase 2 Project Manager
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