1. AUGUST 2016
$2.50 VALUE
P E O P L E • P L A C E S • E V E N T S F O O D • F U N
also:
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STYLE FILE: Shop Local for Great Game Day Looks
EATS & DRINKS: Black Apple Crossing in Springdale
Efficient, Effective Energy with Clear Energy
How Area Cities are Making
Northwest Arkansas a Greener Place
COMMUNITY &
SUSTAINABILITY

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Black Apple
C o m m u n i t y
BENTONVILLE POCKET COMMUNITY
PROMOTES SUSTAINABILITY AND
ENCOURAGES NEIGHBOR INTERACTION
L IVING S PAC E S | BY ADDI M cNEEL | PHOTOS BY JOE WIT TKOP
64 | CITISCAPES • AUGUST 2016
PHOTO BY ALBERT TJOCLINTON

3. WWW.CITISCAPES.COM | 65
lack Apple Community in
Bentonville could be described
in one word: conversational. As
an ode to the pre-WWII housing
communities where homes were scaled
down in size with front porches all
looking in to a central courtyard, the
Black Apple Community encourages
both sustainability and interacting with
your neighbors.
The pocket community was designed
by GreenSpur, a boutique architect design
firm based in Falls Church, Va. that
focuses on sustainable developments, but
the idea came from the daughter-in-law
of Sam Walton. “We were approached
by Christy Walton to look at building
a pocket community in Arkansas a
couple years ago and it seemed like a
fun opportunity for us,” said GreenSpur
founder Mark Turner.
B

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The entire community, which features
11 homes, is built on one acre. It is located
right off the Bentonville bike trail and is
just across the creek from Crystal Bridges
Museum. According to Turner, pocket
communities are designed to be small, not
only for conservation and sustainability,
but to encourage interaction as well. “You
have to really work hard not to know your
neighbors in this community,” Turner said.
Glenn Mack, a resident of Black
Apple Community, has been living in the
neighborhood since New Year’s Eve. Mack
said that he and his family have enjoyed
getting to know their neighbors and are
grateful that the community was built
in a way to make that interaction easily
achievable. “Black Apple is designed to
foster engagement,” Mack said. “The main
entrances and porches of each house face
a communal courtyard and you can wave
at the folks coming and going. Each family
decides how much they wish to engage with
their neighbors.”
Turner said because of the small-scale
homes in the neighborhood, sustainability
is also a prominent feature and any energy
used is highly efficient. “Some of these
homes in the Black Apple Community are
only about 800 square feet, which is very
modest,” Turner said. “But they are built so
that you don’t sacrifice too much in terms
of quality of life. It might be small but
it has tall ceilings and wide-open spaces
and a nice kitchen. The maintenance and
upkeep as opposed to a large house is really
sustainable.”
Mack said his house heats up and cools
down very quickly. He also said that,
although the ductless HVAC system is
modern in its energy efficiency, the house
retains a farm-style, agrarian aesthetic.
Director of design for GreenSpur, Zach
Gasper, said that the construction process
also played a role in the sustainability of
the Black Apple houses. “The homes are
built using prefabricated panels called
SIPs,” Gasper said. “The foundation is also
a prefabricated system that comes insulated.
Both systems are thermally more efficient
than a standard stick-framed home. They
also can be assembled at much faster speeds.”

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Not only is the community uncommon
in terms of its size, sustainability and
concept, but the aesthetic features are also
unique to the area. The architecture of the
houses features minimal, industrial designs
but also has a rustic, farm-style concept
incorporated in.
“The style tips its hat to the Southern
vernacular,” Gasper said. “The
modern interiors give the homes the
functionality that our lives require, and
the farmhouse exteriors evoke a nostalgic
sense of home, which I think a lot of people
can relate to.”
Turner also mentioned the differences
in the aesthetic features of the houses and
how they tie together to create something
very different from other small-scale
communities. “I think it is different than
a lot of pocket communities because it has
that historical, modern tension between it,
which people appreciate as opposed to all
modern or all traditional,” Turner said.
“We use a lot of old barn wood inside
with layers of new technology and old
aesthetic features.”
Mack said he appreciates the minimal
features of the houses in the pocket
community and the way the neighborhood
is designed for personal interaction. “It is
stylish, streamlined and functional,” Mack
said. “The best feature is the community
dining area for hosting events and dinners,
and the view of Crystal Bridges Museum is
second to none.”

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GaspersaidhehopesthattheBlackApple
neighborhood will entice all demographics,
because he believes diversity is important
to foster a sense of community. “A strong
community is built across generations,”
Gasper said. “The trend for quite some
time has been to isolate the elderly from
the young and to separate singles from
families. We believe a strong community
is a diverse community. These homes were
designed for empty nesters, millennials and
families alike.”
Mack’s wife, Asele Surina, said that for
her family, Black Apple Community is a
perfect fit, but it might not be for everyone.
“I would recommend it to most people,”
Surina said. “Those who enjoy interacting
with the neighbors would enjoy it more
than those who value privacy above all
else. Also, it works better with people who
prefer a minimalist lifestyle, cleanliness and
simplicity. I think it would especially suit
those new to the area, as it would help to
get to know people faster. Those who value
opportunities that this location offers would
enjoy living in Black Apple tremendously.” ■
HOMEPROSUSED
LEAD DESIGNER: MARK TURNER, GREENSPUR, FALLS CHURCH, VA. • GENERAL CONTRACTOR: MILESTONE
CONSTRUCTION CO., SPRINGDALE • INTERIOR DESIGNERS: LEON GOETZ AND MARY BETH WILLIAMS, HOWSE,
BENTONVILLE • INTERIOR DESIGNER: MISTY MARTIN-DENNIS, BLACK DOOR INTERIOR DESIGN STUDIO, ROGERS
APPLIANCES: METRO APPLIANCES & MORE, SPRINGDALE • CABINETS: MOODY CABINETS, BENTON, ARK. •
COLORED CONCRETE WALKWAYS: ADVANCED CONCRETE SERVICES, INC., FAYETTEVILLE • CUSTOM FURNITURE:
ECOVET FURNITURE CO., ROGERS • DOORS AND WINDOWS: MEEK’S LUMBER, FAYETTEVILLE AND SPRINGDALE
• ELECTRICIAN: GRAJEDA ELECTRIC, ROGERS • FLOORING: ARC2 FLOORING SERVICES, ROGERS • GRANITE
AND MARBLE: NATIONAL MARBLE & GRANITE, SPRINGDALE • INSULATION: G & S INSULATING, SPRINGDALE
• LANDSCAPING: FRANK SHARUM LANDSCAPING & DESIGN, SPRINGDALE • LIGHTING: ENCORE FLOORING
& BUILDING PRODUCTS, SPRINGDALE; RESTORATION HARDWARE, ONLINE • METAL ROOFING: CENTRAL STATES
MANUFACTURING, LOWELL • MIRRORS AND SHOWER DOORS: FAYETTEVILLE GLASS • PAINTING: CHUCK’S
PAINT SERVICES, SPRINGDALE • PLUMBER: QUALITY PLUMBING & BACKFLOW SERVICES, INC., LOWELL • PLUMBING
FIXTURES: FERGUSON, SPRINGDALE; BUILD.COM, ONLINE • SPIRAL STAIRCASE: STI CONSULTING, SPRINGDALE •
STEEL CABLE RAILING: RAZORBACK IRONWORKS, FAYETTEVILLE
L IVING S PAC E S
Community Common Area
For more information,
visit blackapplecommunity.com.
Images shown
are courtesy
Black Apple
Community.
Staging of living
spaces by interior
designer Misty
Martin-Dennis.