Pinnacle Overview

A group of friends created Pinnacle Project, LLC, to manage two projects. The first is to develop Pinnacle Cohousing, a cohousing cluster of private homes with many shared living, community, and workshop spaces. The second is to operate Loch Lyme Lodge, a 100 year old hospitality business comprising a New England lodge and 22 comfortable, rustic cabins - www.lochlymelodge.com These two ventures share 120 acres in Lyme, NH with gardens and fruit trees, play areas, hiking and skiing trails and waterfront on Post Pond. This overview describes both projects.

Pinnacle Cohousing

The idea of aging in our own homes, living surrounded by people of all ages in the neighborhood, brought Pinnacle’s founders together in the first place. Most members will own their own homes/flats, some of which will be included in our shared community building while others will be in duplexes or other buildings, all clustered on five of our 120 acres. This compact design preserves open space, makes communication between neighbors easier, and helps minimize our environmental footprint. We anticipate breaking ground for our first 10 homes in the fall of 2019.

Our individual homes, as small as a studio and as large as a four-bedroom home, will be complemented by shared common spaces including workshop and studio space, community kitchen/dining room large enough to support regular common meals, library and music room, and other community areas that provide comfortable living spaces. We anticipate that individual homes will range in size between 600 and 1800 square feet, while our common house will have almost two thousand square feet. We will add another 4-12 homes to the cluster over time as new members become interested in moving in, and as zoning allows.

We estimate that a studio will cost about $199K, while a four-bedroom home would be closer to $499K. Many factors will influence the final cost of a home, including the overall size of the unit, how the inside of the home is finished, how “green” we can afford to make our buildings, what type of septic treatment and energy systems we use, how much we can use local builders and craftspeople in our construction and design, and when we break ground. We plan to integrate some rentals and would like to be able to include some housing that meets the definition of workforce housing.

Loch Lyme Lodge - Hospitality Business

While we did not purchase the property to run the “Lodge and Cabins at Loch Lyme Lodge”, we quickly came to appreciate that this 100-year-old cabin based hospitality business is a gem. We are preserving LLL by creating a cabin condominium and upgrading the infrastructure, which includes moving and restoring the barn, installing a complete septic system, and insulating and better heating each cabin.

Membership in Pinnacle Project

Three types of membership are available:

  • Pinnacle Members: People who become members of Pinnacle Project, LLC (a “Pinnacle Member”) have the right to come enjoy the waterfront, walking, gardening, skiing, and generally benefit from spending time using the non-residential facilities. In addition, Pinnacle members receive priority access to summer cabin rentals as well as a discount on cabin rentals and meals. To become a Pinnacle Member one must formally agree with our Vision Statement, make a capital contribution (currently $21K), and be accepted by the Pinnacle Project mangers on recommendation of the membership.
  • Cabin Members: A Pinnacle member who also purchases a cabin is a “Cabin Member”. Cabin condo members ordinarily keep their cabins in the rental pool managed by the hospitality business's Innkeepers, and can also use their cabins themselves when not otherwise rented out.
  • Cohousing Members: A Pinnacle member who purchases a home in the cohousing project is a “Cohousing Member”.

A Pinnacle Member does not need to purchase either a cabin or a home, can choose to become either a Cabin and a Cohousing Member, or be both.

Summary

As we look to the future, we believe a combination of cohousing and our cabin-based hospitality business will allow us to use and preserve these 120 acres so that the business can prosper, the cohousing can provide energy efficient, reduced footprint homes, and that our great-grandchildren will look up from Post Pond and see much the same landscape as one sees today.

If you want to learn more about any of these membership options, please write or call Liz Ryan Cole - lizryancole@me.com (802-785-4124) or Rich Brown - richb.hanover@gmail.com (603-795-2525).