Richland officials OK 35-unit Rachel Carson EcoVillage on Eden Hall campus

Chatham University’s plans to build a 35-unit private residential community based on social and environmental sustainability at its Eden Hall campus have been given the green light by Richland officials.

Development plans for the Rachel Carson EcoVillage, which was a part of the Eden Hall master plan before the campus opened to students in 2015, “is based on the model of cohousing, a concept created in Denmark in the 1970s that embodies practices in social and ecological sustainability,” university officials said in a news release.

The development “will model sustainable living that’s healthier, more fulfilling and increasingly independent of fossil fuels,” university officials said.

Chatham University president David Finegold called the EcoVillage project an “inspiring endeavor that brings the transformative words and beliefs of Rachel Carson to life in a beautiful and practical way.”

The renowned environmentalist Rachel Carson is a native of Springdale and a Chatham alumna.

“Chatham University is proud to work with a community that is so passionate about becoming responsible stewards of our environment that they are willing to rethink their entire way of life in order to make their impact on our planet more beneficial and sustainable,” Finegold said.

The EcoVillage is being developed by a group of more than 50 people that includes educators, engineers, artists and other creators and professionals. The group is a mix of families, singles of all ages and couples hailing from western Pennsylvania, Maine, Arizona, Wisconsin and Florida.

Groundbreaking for the project is planned for early this fall and is expected to be ready for residents to move in by next summer.

Twenty of the 35 units already have been sold for the development, which will be built on five of the campus’ 338 acres. The $12 million development will feature 35 homes that vary in size from studios up to four bedrooms, along with a common that is equipped with a commercial kitchen.

The homes will range in price from $150,000 to $500,000.

School officials say the EcoVillage’s goal of fostering collaboration, self-reliance and adaptability integrates well with the Eden Hall campus, which was built as a laboratory for environmentally sound practices.

The initial proposal for the project called for only 15 units to be built.

There are nearly 200 intentional living communities in the United States, including the EcoVillage Ithaca founded in 1994, and Takoma Village in Washington, D.C., which opened in 1998.

Residents of the Rachel Carson EcoVillage will be participating in a number of ecologically based projects and practices at Eden Hall along with sharing in the university’s academic life. Residents will be asked to regularly volunteer to improve the ecological integrity of the campus to help reduce their reliance on traditional food sources.

“Both Chatham and the EcoVillage see learning as a valuable part of our partnership,” said Stefani Danes, an architect and Carnegie Mellon University professor who is helping to guide the project. “We talk about it as a ‘case study’ because our intent is to share what we learn.”

Danes said Chatham is supporting the work of several students who are developing thesis projects that are based on the EcoVillage.

Chatham also is collaborating with Duquesne and Carnegie Mellon universities to create EcoVillage-related projects that will help make the community “a living lab in the truest sense,” she said.

The university is hosting a program to introduce people to the EcoVillage from 10:30 a.m. to noon on July 23, Aug. 27 and Sept. 24. Registration to attend a session can be done online.

Chatham’s Eden Hall Campus is located at 6035 Ridge Road in Richland.