Weaving rural connections

The Wood River Mercantile, affectionately called the Merc, is supported by a working market garden and a ranch that is situated adjacent to an ecological preserve on the nearby Wood River. Together, these properties are being planned with the principles of the Living Community Challenge in mind as they include multi-modal transportation, a variety of use types including affordable housing, and a regenerative design project (the Merc itself).

Place Collaborative's planning work includes consultation on community engagement, land partition application management, zoning updates, and regenerative/resilient land use planning; the neighborhood is planned and designed to be up and running on the community's worst day even when the power is out. Also notable in terms of resilience is that the housing prototype complies with Passive House design standards and includes a micro-grid that satisfies ILFI Zero Energy certification requirements by producing more energy than it consumes on a net annual basis.

Certifications: International Living Future Institute (ILFI) Zero Energy pursuant