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As far as Pavich knows, would be the firstg urban development ofits kind. She woulf like to see the concept take off around the She has created a companycaller , a subsidiary of her , through which she planss to introduce the organic farm and green homes model in othee markets. "This is an all-encompassing development addressingf many of the needs of our currentgenvironmental challenges," Pavich said. "Adding the garden component brings peoplew closer totheir food. You'rr not only living in a sustainable home, you'rer also eating healthy food." The 3.5-acre farm will be walled off from the communityh and will be operated by a localorganixc farmer.
Pavich plans to plant fruir trees and herbs outsidethe wall, available for residentsz to pick. Residents will have the option of participatinfg in thefood program. Pavich has not decided how much it will cost or how it will be Excess produce will be sold to restaurantwand farmer's markets. With all the hybridizationj of foodby corporate-owned farms, food has lost much of its nutritionak value, she said. The crops planted in the garden will be from heirloom which have notbeen hybridized. Pavich said they are up to 400 timexs more nutritious than conventional store Ground was broken last summer for homes in the firsft of five planned phases of La Cuentistq in the VolcanoHeights area.
It involves abou 2,000 acres bounded roughly by the Southwest Parkway to the Petroglyph National Monument to the Paradise Boulevard to the nortg and city and county open space to the five miles west ofUniversd Boulevard. A group of eighty custom home builders bought 140 lots and 14 acresx of public spacefrom Legacy, foundedd 15 years ago by Pavich and her business partner, Stan Together, the builders and Legacy are developinf the property under the name La Cuentistas I. The builders, including and , have completedx about 30 homesso far. Some have been some were built on spec and some are model homes.
Most of the eight builders were alreaduybuilding green, and some joined the projecty because they wanted to starf building green, said Sun Mountain's Norm They are following the sustainable guidelines of the 's "This project is a one-of-a-kind project for Albuquerque, where you're giving something back to the communityg once you develop it," said Lee Michael's Mike Knight. Housingy will include town homes, patio homes, live/worki units and estates, with 30 percent of the land reservec forpublic space, including trailas and gardens.
Homes in the first phase startaround $385,000 for 2,000 square Optional amenities include an active photo-voltaic a solar hot water heater and an outdoor kitchen. Pavich'x family has been farming organically in California for40 years, she In New Mexico, she runs outside Santa Fe, a companyy that distributes raisins and grapes grown by farme operated by her family in Bakersfield, "I know as a farmer where food is headed, and it comesx as no surprise people are gettinf ill," she said. "It's because of the type of food peoplsare eating." This is Pavich's second green She moved to Taos 20 years ago, whers she started the Cielitio Lindo development.
Assembling the land for an urban gree community provedmore difficult, said who has been planning La Cuentist for nearly a decade.