Community Update

As some of you know, Polestar’s 15 years in Hawaii ended dramatically in 2018 with the eruption of the Kilauea Volcano. With our lava insurance check in hand, we set out to find a new campus for our non-profit dedicated to “Spirit, Community and Lifelong Learning”.

After several years of looking far and wide, we landed in Fort Collins, CO., purchased 20 acres with mixed use zoning and just recently, after 4 solid years of planning, fundraising, and endless iterations of documents submitted to city officials, have received final approval to begin construction. We are still fundraising, pre-selling lots and taking reservations and we hope and expect to break ground in early 2026.

Polestar Village is not a traditional cohousing development; we call it an “Intentional Neighborhood”. Having lived in, managed and created communities for almost 50 years, we have applied everything we’ve learned to make it the most conscious, vibrant, inclusive, uplifting community possible. 

The Main Thing

Those who have visited Polestar Communities over the years have often heard one of our favorite mantras: “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing”. Our primary inspiration springs from the practical, timeless, and universal teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. His example of unconditional love and respect for each individual soul and for all spiritual paths, religions, and approaches to human evolution, guides all our activities. Our essential goal is to create an environment that helps each of us to reach our highest potential; to realize ‘the Self’; to reawaken within, that Joy of Being which is unconditioned by the fluctuating circumstances of life. We call this Yoga or Self-Realization. 

However each of us define our own path outwardly, a core value for us is that we consciously engage in our own development. This orientation to one’s authentic, inner process, holds an essential key to building a harmonious community.

A Walkable Village 

The Village Center is the primary hub of the community. It is designed to weave our ideals of how we want to live into the fabric and functions of daily life, all of which are easily accessible on foot. The half-acre Garden and Green is surrounded by diverse housing, a Community Center with dining hall, commercial kitchen, meeting and exercise rooms, a meditation temple, commercial and office space, an elder living and child care facility, a community barn, play areas, two pickleball courts, tot lot, and walking trails.

The quality of life created when people don’t just know their neighbors but intentionally, collaboratively, and cooperatively work, play, meditate, care for their children and elders, grow food and share meals together, is far above our current patterns of living. Conscious community living has enormous potential to inspire, and uplift each member and provides continual nourishment for body, mind and soul. 

As an ‘intentional neighborhood’ our village also includes, beyond the Village Center, single family homes, duplexes, townhomes, and micro-units, for a wide variety of budget, taste and community involvement. 

A Growing Community

One of the most delightful aspects of the new Polestar Village is the incredible opportunity we have for growing food! Continuing the momentum of almost 40 years of organic, biodynamic gardening from the Happy Heart Farm, and with the purchase of 19 &1/2 acre–feet per year of irrigation water in the bargain, we have the opportunity to integrate food production, nutrition, and abundant nourishment on many levels for our entire community. The garden is a place for growing not only food but also friendships, health, and wisdom; daily shared meals with organic, home-grown and home-cooked food, will always be on the menu. 

Open Space

Within our 20 acre campus, about 6&1/2 acres remain as open space. The south and western boundaries will feature a 50’ wide Natural Habitat Buffer Zone (NHBZ) next to a flowing waterway. It already supports many types of wildlife including ducks, coyotes, deer, owls, and hawks, and will have an adjacent walking trail. The northern 3rd of the property includes a large ‘detention pond’ area for flood mitigation. This 5-acre open space, which runs from the western to eastern boundaries, will support low impact activities such as hiking, frisbee, and a dog play area.

Perhaps one of the best things about our location is our proximity to wide open spaces just beyond the city limits. Within minutes of walking or biking, one can explore miles of trails and natural areas in the ‘Front Range’ of the Rocky Mountains to the west.

The work of community building, as is well-known by anyone who has done it, is arduous but rewarding. For those who embrace it as part of their own inner practice, it provides especially fertile ground for human development. We appreciate all who embrace this work and welcome those who feel called, to co-create this vision with us! 

Michael Gornik is co-founder and director of Polestar Gardens, an educational non-profit dedicated to Spirit, Community and Lifelong Learning, and currently developing Polestar Village, an “Intentional Neighborhood” in Fort Collins, CO. You can learn more at: polestarvillage.com