WELLNESS COMMUNITIES
Humanity is truly at a crossroads that absolutely requires us to find new ways of living and interacting ALLISON SMITH, OLIVETTE
More than 10 miles of trails take advantage of the site’s river frontage
Olivette ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA OPENING: through 2027
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etween 300 and 350 homes are being built along the French Broad River near Asheville, North Carolina, over the next 10 years, to create a wellness community described as an “agrihood in the making”. Olivette will be set on 346 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and will focus on connections to food, nature and the arts. An on-site organic farm will re-localise food production and the farm will be scaled so it can feed 175 families. The community will also feature edible gardens, berry and fruit orchards, bee hives and edible landscaping as part of its ‘plough-to-pantry’ philosophy.
INGO SCHWEDER, CEO, GOCO HOSPITALITY
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Olivette also features more than 10 miles of hiking trails and an eight-acre park. Stringent energy efficiency is required in all new home construction, with subsidised geothermal heating and cooling for every house in the first phase.
GOCO Retreat Dawson Lake
Sterling Ranch
WEST VIRGINIA
DENVER, COLORADO
OPENING: unconfi rmed
OPENING: 2017- 2037
G The physical environment in which people live has an enormous impact on their health
“New models of sustainable development are needed,” says Allison Smith, director of sales for the Olivette development. “Humanity is truly at a crossroads that absolutely requires us to find new ways of living and interacting with the environment – and with each other – to create a more sustainable, peaceful, open and connected world.”
OCO Hospitality is in the process of working on a GOCO Retreat across 750 acres (304 hectares) in the West Virginia countryside, not far from Washington, DC. The project focuses heavily on the area’s natural mineral springs, and will include both a 70-bedroom wellness hotel and 150 residences – all houses. “Our GOCO Retreats not only offers guests extensive wellness programming and activities, but also provide them with a retreat from
©CYBERTREK 2017
their everyday environment, allowing them to heal and reconnect with nature,” says Ingo Schweder, CEO. A 4,000sq m (43,056sq ft) spa will include mineral springs bathing. Other wellness activities, including canoeing, hiking, biking, and horseback riding, will be incorporated in the retreat. Schweder said he is also in talks with a DC sustainable think tank to be anchored to the retreat, and that he expects the location to be a space for politicians to escape for off-site meetings.
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terling Ranch, in Littleton, Colorado – near Denver – is being developed as a dedicated wellness village, and will ultimately include nine villages radiating outward from a town centre, connected by 30 miles of trails. The community will be built over a period of 20 years, with the first model homes opening this year, and will include a health centre in partnership with UCHealth, with on-site medical services and urgent care. The “intelligently orchestrated” internal paths will ultimately be connected to state and regional trail systems, including the 486-mile Colorado Trail, which begins at the nearby Waterton Canyon.