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An Overview of The Pinnacle Project |
The Pinnacle Project at Loch Lyme Lodge (PP @ LLL) is our name for a project to create:
- A old-fashioned neighborhood with private homes and shared spaces
- Twenty five to thirty homes for singles and families, old and young, clustered together to preserve open space and minimize our environmental footprint on our 120 acres
- Gardens — both community and personal
- Shared workshop and studio space
- Waterfront
- Music
- Good food and good company
- What the members make of it
The Pinnacle Project can either be a country place that provides decades of peaceful vacations, a place to live in cohousing, or both. As we see it, people should consider joining us if:
- You want to live and ultimately “age in place”, in your own small home with an elegant shared common house.
- You are thoughtful about your “environmental footprint”.
- You enjoy community and cooperation.
- You’d like to be a small part of the solution to creating affordable housing.
- You want to preserve the open space of these lovely 120 acres.
- And even if you don’t want to live here year-round, the Pinnacle Project can help you own this, the “zip car of second homes” without the hassle and expense of keeping up a place on your own.
Our goal is to live — now and into retirement — in Lyme, NH. We want to become part of the community, and protect and preserve Loch Lyme Lodge. We are looking ahead to the long-term future and plan to preserve our 120 acres so that when our great-grandchildren look up from Post Pond they will see much the same scene one sees today.
We must balance our desire for elegance, beauty and green building practices with a budget that recognizes both real costs and economies of scale.
Lodge Members (Tier I members)
Tier I members can come any time of year — to swim, garden, walk, read, cross-country ski or just relax. Before and after the summer guest season, Tier I members may use the rustic cabins at little or no cost. During the summer season members also benefit. They get a credit toward cabin and restaurant meal use and can make cabin reservations before non-members.
To become a Tier I member you must join the group and make a capital contribution. Tier I shares will cost $50,000 after we are built but early joiners can pay as much as 20% less because joining now helps make the project a reality and reduces our overall costs. It is not necessary to purchase an entire Tier I share at one time - it is possible to become a Tier I member over time.
Loch Lyme Lodge has been welcoming guests for almost 100 years. Come visit us. We are actively seeking Tier I members now.
Resident Members (Tier II / III Membership)
The cohousing project is a work in progress. The people who make up the group will create our final design. What we do know is that resident members will have individual ownership of their suites, in or very near an elegant common “green” house. Our 25 individual homes will be complemented by shared common space including dining room, library, kitchen, music room, workshops space etc. We estimate that a full suite will cost somewhere between $230K and $500K in 2009 dollars. Your tier I share will become a significant part of your down payment. The difference between Tier II and Tier III members is that Tier III members are full-time residents, while Tier II members time-share their suites with other Tier II members.
Many factors that will influence the final cost of a suite including the size of the suite you design (we anticipate suites of 600 to 1400 square feet), how you finish the inside of your suite, how “green” we can afford to make our building, what our septic treatment and energy systems will be, how much we can use local builders and craftspeople in our construction and design and when we are able to break ground.
We will have a monthly fee that covers expenses from the kitchen steward and clearning staff (yes we all have a 4 hour per week coop work requirement, but we also will have some staff), to insurance and utilities, to common meals.
We have 13 Tier I members now (23 adults with children from 5 to 40). We are working with the Town of Lyme on zoning to develop a plan that fits with the character of the community and the directions in which it is moving. We are also working on house siting, septic design, etc. We do not plan to break ground until at least the fall of 2010 and will not begin to build until we have a commitment for 70% of the planned suites. The overall project will be designed so that it can be built in stages if necessary.
You should also read our Vision Statement for a list of our essential principles.
For more information please call 802-785-4124 or e-mail
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with questions. We'd love to meet you.
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