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Heartwood Phase 2 development is heating up. Lots of progress has been made, which you can read about below under Recent Progress. We've steadfastly moved through many setbacks, including an excruciatingly slow county approval process, skyrocketing construction costs, climbing interest rates, but we are now at a place where we are planning to break ground in the spring of 2025. Construction costs and interest rates have settled down and even dropped a little and our project has moved very close to receiving county approval. We have received lots of interest in Phase 2 so we are kicking off a series of Zoom gatherings to provide everyone with the latest info. The first one will be on Saturday, February 24 at 9:00am MT time (11:00 Eastern, 10:00 Central, 8:00 Pacific). At that Zoom gathering, we will unveil the four Phase 2 model home designs and also newly updated price estimates. Mark your calendar. The Zoom link is: https://zoom.us/j/97340154655?pwd=SVpIWTl0dWxOTmhxT3NsZDFtaFRxZz09 (Meeting ID: 973 4015 4655; Passcode: pL3Cuz) We've been fortunate to persuade Matt Worswick to postpone his retirement so he can design our Phase 2 homes. Matt is an expert in passive solar and cohousing design. He was our architect for Phase 1. We love the beauty, quality, and energy efficiency of the homes he designed for us. We also happen to think that our common house he designed for us is the best we've ever seen. With the help of the existing Phase 2 Homebuyers, Matt has designed four stunning new models for Phase 2, taking into consideration the latest in environmentally friendly construction technology.  Artist rendering of the living room, dining room, and kitchen of the Phase 2 Juniper model. Recent Progress After a tremendous amount of work by our engineer, architect, surveyor, and attorney, we submitted our Preliminary Plat application. All signs seem to be pointing in the right direction because our County Planning Department staff person, County Engineer, and Board of County Commissioners all seem to be very supportive of our project. We just have to jump through the myriad of hoops to get our approval. And we're almost there. We've had some wonderful households move into Heartwood lately, including a few young families. One of those families even welcomed their new daughter into the world just a couple weeks ago! Penelope was born at home here at Heartwood, a healthy and beautiful baby. A few weeks before the birth, the Heartwood women and girls gathered in our yurt for a Blessingway for the expectant mother, Ashley. All reports are that it was a lovely and touching ceremony, the type that we become accustomed to in cohousing, but seems all too rare in mainstream America. If you'd like to get acquainted with Heartwood members, new and old, check out our recently revised Meet our Members webpage.  The Path Ahead We have two main points of focus in the months ahead. We will continue to work with the county to obtain our Preliminary Plat approval, hopefully within the next couple of months. We are also ramping up our marketing efforts so we can welcome in our last seven Phase 2 Homebuyers, a crucial step to obtain construction financing and break ground in the spring of 2025. Obtaining our Preliminary Plat approval is important to you because we are offering an Early Bird discount of $8,000 to anyone who becomes a Phase 2 Homebuyer within 15 days after we receive Preliminary Plat approval. Becoming a Phase 2 Homebuyer takes time because it involves thoroughly getting to know Heartwood and deciding to commit to buying a home here. For the good of the community and for the good of future community members, we want people to really get to know us by visiting and spending time and we want them to carefully consider their commitment – and that takes time. All this is to say, if you're interested in Heartwood, now is the time to act. We have limited availability in our guest room reservations and we've had lots of interest lately. To learn about coming to spend time at Heartwood, check out our Plan a Visit webpage. For more information about getting involved in Phase 2 and Early Bird Credits, check out our About Phase 2 webpage and Vital Information for Phase 2 Homebuyers webpage. You may have noticed that we previously had 14 Phase 2 Homebuyers, but now we have only seven. The big delays in the county approval process along with the rising costs of construction and interest rates led some folks to drop out, but the biggest factor has been Phase 2 folks buying homes in Phase 1 when they've become available (a bird in the hand). Since we started working on Phase 2 five years ago, we've had 10 Phase 2 households move into Phase 1.  Blessingway ceremony in the yurt for Heartwood's newest mom, Ashley (on right). Getting Involved 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, but we do have spots available in Phase 2. To learn more, go to our About Phase 2 webpage. We also have a lovely house share or short term rental opportunity. Check it out here. Spring is a great time to visit Heartwood. Click here to go to our Plan a Visit webpage or click here to send an email to Ashley. 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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