Success Stories
Cottonwood Place: Green Apartments and Gardens for Seniors
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Cottonwood Place, a Bay-Friendly Rated Landscape in Fremont -
The property's landscape was designed to keep all stormwater on site instead of letting it flow to the sewer system. -
Raised beds in the courtyard give seniors a place to grow food and flowers. -
As the plants mature, vines will grow over the arbors to provide shady seating areas.
At Cottonwood Place in Fremont, nonprofit housing developer Eden Housing has created a beautiful, healthy community for low income seniors. This innovative development, which includes 98 private apartments, was constructed using green building and Bay-Friendly landscaping methods and incorporates a number of features to ensure its long-term energy efficiency and sustainability.
In addition to earning the Bay-Friendly Rated Landscape designation, Cottonwood Place achieved a high score from the GreenPoint Rated green building rating program.
The City of Fremont Human Services Department provides on-site service coordination to connect Cottonwood Place residents with community-based services. Amenities in the residential development include a community room, computer lab and library, a landscaped central courtyard with community patios, seat walls and vine-covered arbors, and raised gardening beds where residents can grow vegetables and flowers.
LANDSCAPE HIGHLIGHTS
- Recycled materials include pavers, site furnishings and mulch
- State-of-the-art irrigation system incorporates moisture sensors, rain sensors, flow detection and smart controllers to ensure that plants are watered only when and where needed
- Stormwater filtration and management measures were integrated into streetscape designs, courtyards and site landscapes to capture 100% of runoff
- Large native shrubs provide shelter and food for wildlife including pollinators and other beneficial insects
- Sheet mulch was used for weed control
- Renewable energy systems include solar hot water panels and a 100 kW photovoltaic system
RESULTS
- 300,000 gallons of irrigation water saved compared to a conventional landscape
- 95% of landscape construction and demolition debris recycled
- 50 tons of local, recycled compost used
- 56 tons of local, recycled mulch used
- 98% of new plants are low water species
- Bay-Friendly landscaping practices reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 15 to 32 tons CO2E
PROJECT DETAILS
- Project owner/developer: Eden Housing, Inc.
- Landscape architect: Bruce Jett Associates
- Location: 3701 Peralta Blvd., Fremont, CA
- Project area: 2.4 acres
- Landscape accessible to the public? Partial
Bay-Friendly Rated Landscape score: 98
Year rated: 2012
Bay-Friendly Rater: Cynthia Greenberg, Placeworks