This term means so many things, to so many people.
I'm a real estate developer by trade, but work almost exclusively outside the US, when I build- which isn't as often as it once was.
I am in the VERY early stages of looking at a project that, if I proceed, will likely be my last. No- I'm not so old, LOL- but this project would be a long-term labor of love, as opposed to down and dirty.
I have access to some land in the southwest part of DR. Old coffee land, which has lain fallow for a couple decades, at least. I can get a very attractive price on the land - attractive enough so that if I proceed, I'll have no bank breathing down my neck. Several hundred acres are involved. For obvious reasons, I can't be too specific at this point.
For years I have looked, in several countries, for a place to build an "eco-friendly" semi-resort. By this I mean a place where solar and/or wind power is utilized as much as possible (given the costs involved, these "alternate" power sources are NOT cheap). I intend a small hotel, with restaraunt/bar - and see using a significant piece of the land for orchards/gardens, to supply both the hotel and my buyers with very fresh, possibly organic, produce and fruits. Also- replanting coffee for internal use makes some sense to me- only because I've always wanted to grow my own.
The homes built would be of our design, for sale to interested parties, utilizing passive design schemes for cooling, and the community would have very strict restrictive covenants governing changes to the structures.(no- I am NOT soliciting sales- only trying to explain my intent). Obviously, these covenants could be utilized for governing "green" usages, also- if the costs involved do not completely eliminate all markets. (I am seeing this as primarily a US/Euro buyers market, although maybe I get surprised later!) I would hope that it is possible to build such a place, that has nearly zero dependance on the local power grid- for obvious reasons. LOL Also, a self-contained water treatment plant, for recycling water is high on the list.
The eternal problem with designing/developing projects of this sort is- none of these green technologies are cheap. Becoming cheaper, yes- but still not cheap. It would be fairly easy to build a green utopia, if recouping costs were not an issue. :cheeky: I'm not an environmental engineer, not an engineer of any sort - just a guy who would take pride in building a small community that over time contibutes to the knowledge base of environmental possibilities, while providing a place where eco-friendly folks are not ashamed of their consumerism. LOL
I'd really be grateful for any/all input on defining "eco-friendly" - as well as ways to implement the concept. I have a list of ideas, but have specifically NOT spoken of them, except for the obvious stuff. I can't promise anything at this point, anyway - but even if the project never proceeds, for me at least, the discussion could be enlightening, and I hope for others, too...
I'm a real estate developer by trade, but work almost exclusively outside the US, when I build- which isn't as often as it once was.
I am in the VERY early stages of looking at a project that, if I proceed, will likely be my last. No- I'm not so old, LOL- but this project would be a long-term labor of love, as opposed to down and dirty.
I have access to some land in the southwest part of DR. Old coffee land, which has lain fallow for a couple decades, at least. I can get a very attractive price on the land - attractive enough so that if I proceed, I'll have no bank breathing down my neck. Several hundred acres are involved. For obvious reasons, I can't be too specific at this point.
For years I have looked, in several countries, for a place to build an "eco-friendly" semi-resort. By this I mean a place where solar and/or wind power is utilized as much as possible (given the costs involved, these "alternate" power sources are NOT cheap). I intend a small hotel, with restaraunt/bar - and see using a significant piece of the land for orchards/gardens, to supply both the hotel and my buyers with very fresh, possibly organic, produce and fruits. Also- replanting coffee for internal use makes some sense to me- only because I've always wanted to grow my own.
The homes built would be of our design, for sale to interested parties, utilizing passive design schemes for cooling, and the community would have very strict restrictive covenants governing changes to the structures.(no- I am NOT soliciting sales- only trying to explain my intent). Obviously, these covenants could be utilized for governing "green" usages, also- if the costs involved do not completely eliminate all markets. (I am seeing this as primarily a US/Euro buyers market, although maybe I get surprised later!) I would hope that it is possible to build such a place, that has nearly zero dependance on the local power grid- for obvious reasons. LOL Also, a self-contained water treatment plant, for recycling water is high on the list.
The eternal problem with designing/developing projects of this sort is- none of these green technologies are cheap. Becoming cheaper, yes- but still not cheap. It would be fairly easy to build a green utopia, if recouping costs were not an issue. :cheeky: I'm not an environmental engineer, not an engineer of any sort - just a guy who would take pride in building a small community that over time contibutes to the knowledge base of environmental possibilities, while providing a place where eco-friendly folks are not ashamed of their consumerism. LOL
I'd really be grateful for any/all input on defining "eco-friendly" - as well as ways to implement the concept. I have a list of ideas, but have specifically NOT spoken of them, except for the obvious stuff. I can't promise anything at this point, anyway - but even if the project never proceeds, for me at least, the discussion could be enlightening, and I hope for others, too...