Living at The Green results in significant savings for our residents,
for the local community and for the environment. This
is the aspect of The Green of which we are
most proud. Every decision that
has been made in relation to the development
of The Green has focused
on these three areas.
Resident Savings
Smart design, efficient construction methods, the use of emerging technologies and bulk buying power will ensure that our homes are some of the most cost-effective in the industry. The resulting savings have been passed onto you. The sale price of our homes start from $219 000. Extra items include solid timber doors, steel fixtures and fittings, photovoltaic cells on the roof and many others.
Note the quality of the fixtures and fittings.
In addition, if you hold a valid Seniors Discount card (issued in any Australian state) you are eligible for a 6% discount on the purchase price of your energy, water and waste efficient home.
Back to top
At $105.00 per week, the lot fees at The Green are in line with what you will pay elsewhere. However, depending on your circumstances these fees can be reduced significantly.
As you pay lot rent the Department of Social Security will pay individuals receiving a government pension rental assistance. If you purchase a unit in a retirement village you will most likely not be eligible for rental assistance.
If you want more information on the amount of rental assistance you may be eligible for click here.
If you want to know more about how rental assistance works click here.
Also, if you hold a valid Seniors Card you will be eligible for a further 10% discount on your lot fees. To receive this discount all you need to do is show us your Seniors Card and we will deduct 10% from your lot fees.
We believe that your lot fees represent excellent value for money. Included in your lot fees are:
- Unlimited use of all facilities at The Green.
- Use of the Community Bus (available from mid 2008)
- All council rates and charges incurred by The Green.
- Maintenance and continual improvement of grounds and facilities
- 24-hour on-site security with scheduled patrols
- Security cameras which can be monitored from your own TV (coming soon.)
- Membership to one of Australia's most unique Social Clubs.
- Security of tenure
- Mail delivered to your door daily
- Street lighting
- MATV system providing access to free-to-air television (this will be extended in the future to include cable.)
- Network connection to high-speed internet (coming very soon!)
Back to top
Our homes are packed with energy and water efficient fixtures and fittings, such as this revolutionary 4.5/3 litre dual flush toilet.
We estimate that residents at The Green will save between $1500 and $2000 per year in their living costs. This equates to a further $30 - $40 per week reduction in living costs.
Your water, electricity and gas are billed separately, on a monthly basis. However, the design of the homes should ensure minimal water and energy bills for our residents.
Incorporated into each house are enough water tanks to provide water for a four person household for a twelve month period (even in the driest years!). In the unlikely event that you do run low on water we have extra water tanks on-site. Water can be purchased at the same rate charged by Logan City Council. If you use your water wisely you should have NO WATER BILLS at all.
Photo-voltaic cells (PV cells) have been included on the roof of each house. The PV cells produce electricity during the day. Any electricity that is not used during the day is 'sold' to Energex. At night, when the sun is not shining, you will need to 'buy' power back from Energex. It is envisaged that, if used sensibly, all homes at The Green should be able to be net exporters of electricity to the electricity grid. THIS MEANS NO POWER BILLS.
If you are a pensioner you may be entitled to a pensioner rebate on your electricity bill. This should help ensure that you pay NO ELECTRICITY BILLS.
The homes at The Green are designed for our local climate. They are extremely energy efficient. For instance, a fridge will run 25% more efficiently in one of our homes than it will in a conventional home. This, and other, design features of our energy efficient homes help to minimise the amount of electricity that is used and reducing the amount of electricity used reduces the cost to you.
Ambulance Levy
As The Green only pays one electricity bill on behalf of all residents, the Ambulance levy which is to be paid by all Energex account holders will only need to be paid once. The Green will pay this levy on it's power bill. Residents will not have to pay this levy.
Back to top
It is entirely possible that your car may not be used at all.
The community bus (coming in 2009) will run regularly to various locations in the local area. If you don't want to wait for the free community bus you can always jump on the Park Ridge Transit bus which stops at the front gate every 30 minutes.
There are a number of local business which will deliver goods to your door. For instance, you could catch the bus to Park Ridge Village and do your shopping at Woolworths and arrange for your groceries to be delivered to your door later in the day. As well as this you can have your mail, milk, fruit and vegies delivered to your door.
The Green encourages the use of bicycles both around the community itself and around the local area. Each home has a storage area which is suitable for the storage of bicycles or mopeds.
The Social Club will arrange regular day tours for residents. These outings also reduce the need for you to use your car.
If residents can eliminate the use of their motor vehicle the costs savings to them are considerable. However the savings to the environment are even greater. We encourage all residents to minimise the use of their vehicles.
Many retirement villages often charge deferred fees (or departure fees) which are normally paid upon the sale of your unit. The Green does not charge any such fee.
If you do sell your home any capital gain is retained by you. Often retirement villages require a share of these gains to be paid to them. This does not happen at The Green. It is our hope that as the cost of living increases in Australia the value of our highly energy and water efficient homes will increase at a considerably higher rate than conventional homes which will cost more and more to run over time.
Back to top
Savings for the Environment
One of the major goals at The Green is to be able to reduce our impact on our environment. We believe that we are doing this effectively.
A typical Australian household uses over 6500kWh per year in electricity (roughly 18 kWh per day). This consumption results in the annual emission of approximately 6 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which contributes to the enhanced greenhouse effect causing global warming. The home designs at The Green produce approximately half this level of emissions, with further reductions achieved through energy conservation, minimal use of motor vehicles and energy generation through technologies such as instant hot water heaters and photovoltaic panels.
We believe that each household at The Green should be able to reduce the amount of harmful greenhouse gases that they emit annually by at least 8 tonnes. To put this into perspective, according to the Australian Greenhouse Office 8 tonnes of ozone depleting greenhouse gases would fill an average Australian home more than eight times.
At The Green as much stormwater as possible is retained on-site using numerous water storage devices. The water which is not stored is directed into the ground where it replenishes the water table. By eliminating surface stormwater from entering our neighbouring creeks and rivers, and ultimately the sea, we are reducing the effects of soil erosion considerably. But more than that, we are helping to prevent the build up of sediment in our waterways, which helps all of the flora and fauna that relies on those waterways for their survival (including humans!).
In the construction of the homes at The Green we have tried to use as many sustainable building products as possible. By this we mean renewable products which have been produced with minimal impact on the environment. Examples of such products are:
-
Environmentally friendly wall panels - The ceilings and some walls are built of compressed wheat or rice straw. No chemical additives are used in the manufacturing process and the straw used to construct the product is totally renewable (new crops are grown each year and are often treated as a waste product!).
-
Plantation timber - wherever possible we have stipulated that contractors use plantation timbers. This helps to ensure the survival of our old growth forests.
Back to top
Savings for the Community
Wherever possible we have tried to reduce our impact on our local community. As the population of Australia increases the strain on governments to provide the services that a civilised society, such as Australia, requires will be significant. As a community The Green will reduce this strain:
-
By providing quality affordable accommodation for our aging population. There is no other facility in Australia offering both reasonably priced homes and extremely low running costs.
-
By limiting the amount of stormwater and sewage which finds its way into council drains, sewers, creeks and rivers we are saving the Logan City Council a considerable sum of money. Stormwater and sewerage infrastructure is one of the council's major assets and therefore one of their main expenses. By reducing the amount of water and effluent entering these systems we are helping council to defer any future upgrades that may be required in the future as well as reducing the pressure on the current system.
-
By generating our own electricity we reducing the pressure on Energex's infrastructure, and are helping them to postpone future upgrades to their system. Energex has a community obligation to generate a certain percentage (currently 2%) of 'green electricity' into the grid. We are helping Energex meet this requirement.
