Master-Planned Community Cuts Costs and Saves Water with Progressive Water Sourcing and Advanced Irrigation Management
Sonders Development
Fort Collins, CO
Overview
With a stated goal to conserve water and establish extensive community open space, the developer of a residential community in Northern Colorado set aside an existing, high-water-use development plan and engaged Hines engineers to develop something far more efficient and cost effective.
The Challenge:
Development of large-scale residential communities is never simple. But the developer for Sonders, a 240-acre, 55+ housing development in Northern Colorado, had a vision for the property that added layers of complexity to the process.
Sonders General Partner Bill Swalling knew from the outset that he wanted to conserve as much water as possible on the site. As an avid fly fisherman and longtime Colorado resident, he’s acutely aware of the growing pressure on water systems in the West. And as a businessman, he’s also seen the rapid rise of water costs.
After another developer assigned the development contract to Swalling’s group, he aimed to create a vibrant community for empty-nesters, where residents could comfortably age in place and easily connect with nature and each other.
“One of our principles is to help residents reach their full potential for mental, physical and spiritual health,” says Swalling. “We knew conserving water was the right thing to do, even before it was something anyone really thought about. And in doing so, we would be able to invest more in creating green spaces and other amenities throughout the property.”
The Solution:
Swalling turned to Hines Inc. for water analysis and planning. He’d worked with company owner Nate Hines on other projects going back decades and had complete faith in his ability to take the vision from concept to reality.
“Nate and his team were always going to be our leading edge on technology and design on the irrigation systems,” says Swalling. “I trusted them to conserve as much water as possible as economically as possible.”
While the original developer had produced a high-water-use plan the site, Hines went in another direction, creating something entirely new for Colorado. The Hines team conducted a WaterFirst™ assessment of the site, which revealed multiple opportunities to create a progressive, water-saving community, actively managing their most essential resource. Hines engineers designed a highly efficient system that tapped these sources for irrigation for both shared spaces and individual lots.
Hines uses a straightforward, proprietary interface with AI overlay to manage the system and control watering schedules for the entire development. By bringing a non-potable tap to each lot and overseeing irrigation-water distribution, they’re able to dramatically reduce water costs.
Images Courtesy of Sonders Fort Collins
The Results:
Swalling says Hines’s innovative water planning reduced water and infrastructure costs by more than 60 percent. The savings, including six million dollars on water source development alone, made it possible to double the acreage of community open space. He notes that Sonders has also become a pilot project for the state, demonstrating the utility and economic sense of non-potable irrigation techniques.
“Not only are we conserving water, we’re also able to create more room for flora and fauna, build more walking trails, and enhance connections with neighbors and nature,” says Swalling. “I knew Nate and his team would come through for us. Nate always wants to do better. He’s solution oriented, stands by his work and has a talent for explaining new concepts.”
With the development about 40 percent complete, Swalling has asked Hines to take a larger management role at the property. “There’s more to do,” he says. “We need to continue to partner well with the city of Fort Collins and help educate the residents on the benefits of our water-management system and our vision for the community. Nate and his team will do a great job.”