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David Fair: This is 89 WEMU. Ann Arbor will soon be one of the first mixed-income net zero energy communities. Ann Arbor has been planning for years. The 130-acre development is Nestle Long County Farm Park. It’s also known as Veridian @ County Farm. This community will be entirely electric-powered. I’m David Fair. There will be no gas lines installed. It will have many other sustainable elements. The partnership with Avalon Housing, THRIVE Collaborative, and Avalon Housing led to the development. Our guest today will share with us the short- and long-term plans and where we are at the moment. Matt Grocoff, founder and principal of THRIVE Collective. Matt, welcome back!
Matt Grocoff: David, I am so grateful for your time. It’s been a difficult couple of years for us all.
David Fair: Since the pandemic began, we haven’t spoken. Let’s talk about this. The pandemic clearly had an impact on many aspects of our lives. Did it impact the progress of Veridian at County Farms
Matt Grocoff: It had the same impact on us as it did everyone else. But our work kept moving forward. We all wish that the climate crisis would have given us more time to prepare for the pandemic. So we had to keep working. Because of the nature and passion of this project, and the partnerships that we have, it was possible to continue moving forward. Everyone was concerned early on about financing our real-estate projects and refinancing in middle of pandemic. It was a great success. We had many people, sometimes more than one, essentially negotiating with us to finance the project. So, we are now fully funded and ready for action. We are getting media attention around the globe.
David Fair: These are all factors that have increased the cost of everything. They include supply chain issues and rising material costs. There is also a boom in the housing market. But you claim that your funds are sufficient to allow you to proceed.
Matt Grocoff: It actually enhances our ability to continue. All these global supply chain issues and the globalization and centralization of everything highlight why Veridian is so important. Look at something like Veridian’s Honey Locust Farm Stop. It’s modeled after Ann Arbor’s Argus Farm Stop. They were not affected at all by the disruptions in global food supply chains. In the early days of the pandemic you could go into Argus wearing a mask. They had everything you needed because they had close relationships with local farmers. There were over 200 farmers supplying the store every day. Argus was not built for the pandemic, and Veridian was not designed to be used in a pandemic. However, it can adapt to all situations. Veridian would be a great place to live if it existed today. It has layered sociality. You can have your own space with your family inside and also walk by your neighbors on their front porches. You can meet up with your family or friends at a fire in a communal space. You can walk to the grocery store, or the honey locust farmer stop.
David Fair: This is Issues of the Environment. This is Matt Grocoff, Thrive Collaborative’s net zero energy development Veridian at County Farm. It was again on Earth Day that ground was broken. That day, you started accepting reservations for some of the housing options that would eventually be made available. What has been the initial response?
Matt Grocoff:It’s been great. There have been literally hundreds of people who are interested in their property. Within 30 minutes, we sold 30 to 40% of these homes. We were the founding neighbors of this project’s first set of homes.
David Fair: They are also the most expensive types of housing in the area. Is it because they are the most expensive?
Matt Grocoff: It’s a mixture of both. There were many decisions involved. The most important thing about this project was the fact that everything is designed literally from soil up. The soil below the ground is what informs us about the location of the houses and the paths. Then, everything was designed around that. The first homes we were going to build were those that are located in the central area where we will be flowing a lot more water through and all the bio-wells. They all have to be built first. Engineers and lawyers love to draw boundaries, but water doesn’t. Then, we can sort of build outwards.
David Fair: You have another 30 lofts to choose from. 22 apartment style units. These units will be priced from 185 to $340,000. What is the best time to start working on these?
Matt Grocoff: That being said, we are trying to figure it out right now and we want to move as fast as possible. There are a lot of people who have already indicated that they are willing to reserve one of these homes once we release them. Right now, we are in discussions with our lawyers about preparing documents that will allow people to reserve them ahead of time. We expect those documents to be ready sooner than anticipated, but more information will be available in the coming months and weeks.
David Fair: WeMU’s Issues of the Environment continues once again. Also, our conversation with Matt Grocoff continues. Veridian at County Farm is what we are referring to. Let’s now talk about impact. How will you assess the climate and environmental benefits once your site is up and running?
Matt Grocoff: This is a great question. There is no such thing a sustainable perfection in a home, or in a neighborhood. We will use this area to sell all the homes, and to attract people who can afford to move into the Avalon apartments. But also using all of our partnerships with appliance makers, their faucet manufacturers, lumber and everything else, to really leverage the opportunity to bring the whole building and development and construction and planning commissions and city councils across America along to see what we have done. It was difficult for us, but it is not rocket science and should not be so hard for anyone else. It won’t be repeated, that is what worries me most.
David Fair: This begs the question: Do you intend to use this as a model for other developments in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County or Southeast Michigan?
Matt Grocoff: 100%. Except that the blueprint will improve with every iteration. As in the natural world this is only one of many iterations that we can and should do. Every day, Veridian employees discuss what is and isn’t working. What is the next step in our next project? We have the technology and knowledge to create affordable housing that integrates into every layer of the neighborhood.
David Fair:You claim you have the desire. Do you think our utility workers feel the same?
Matt Grocoff:I do. Again, there is a difference between giant entities and individuals. There are many, numerous individuals. I think everyone realizes that we must drive towards electrification. It remains to see how quickly they move to take action. This is the direction it is heading. Anyone who doubts it will face financial and moral difficulties in the future. It is clear that in the near future, neighborhoods will be fully electrified and powered by energy.
David Fair: If Veridian is considered an infant step, when are people going to move into this development?
Matt Grocoff: Next year is the target date for people to move in. Fall 2023 will be the start of construction. We think we should be wrapping everything and tying it up by the end of 2024, or early to mid-2025. That puts us five years from the 2030 deadline. Ann Arbor and others around the world have set the date that we need to decarbonize. This is the decade of action. It’s 2022. We’re doing it. We are proving it. Now, we need to ensure that it is replicated and that others do so because we won’t be done until 2024/2025. All new construction must be entirely electric by then. There are no fossil fuels, so a grid that is both beneficial and renewablely powered is all that is needed.
David Fair: This is a conversation I can invite back to you and we can discuss whether or not there is the political will to get it done in a reasonable amount of time. It would be an interesting topic to explore.
Matt Grocoff: Absolutely. There are so many exciting things going on. We are currently working with Salient Energy, an innovative battery company. We are looking at the potential for this next generation of power supply, which will be a democratic, affordable, and networked renewable source of energy.
David Fair:Matt, thank-you so much for taking time to speak with us today. I appreciate it. We’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
Matt Grocoff: Absolutely. You can also go to Veridian Dot Community to stay in touch. Register for our updates. We will be holding many webinars and other events on various topics, including zero waste, energy microgrids and affordable housing, over the course of the spring/summer. Everyone, even those who are not going to live at Veridian, can join us for these conversations. We look forward to it. And, again, it’s Veridian dot community. You can also see floor plans and all other useful information there.
David Fair: If you don’t have time to write it down, you can link directly to the WEMU website. Matt Grocoff is that man. He is the principal and founder of THRIVE Collaborative. Avalon Housing is working with him to build one of the first mixed-income, net-zero energy developments in the country. It is a step towards the future. This is David Fair. It’s 89 on WEMU FM and WEMUHD one Ypsilanti.
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