'Green' Mountain luxury living: Caribou Ridge plans high-end 'sustainable' homes for Nederland.

• Author: Lewis, David
• Position: WHO OWNS COLORADO [PLANET-PROFIT REPORT]

NEDERLAND IS A PEACEFUL, QUIRKY LITTLE MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY--population 1,300, altitude 8,300 feet--with much emphasis on "quirky."

After all, the town probably is best known for its Frozen Dead Guy Days festival, a celebration of the dry ice-driven preservation of the remains of a fellow named Bredo Morstoel.

The good news for those who believe in the importance of burial rituals is that, sources say, about half of Nederland's population is fed up and looking to convert the Frozen Dead Guy fest into a more conventional winter celebration. More good news stems from the observation that Nederland is outgrowing its reputation as the place Boulderites go when the People's Republic has begun to seem too conventional.

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Nederland's movement toward the middle has been made possible by the middle's movement toward Nederland, a coincidence that gives rise to the town's mostly modest and sensible real estate development: an expanded hair salon, a small new commercial center next to a Nepalese restaurant, and a new Whistler's Cafe with added dinner service.

All are owned by newish-comers, not native Nederlanders.

Then there's west Boulder County's first planned unit development since who knows when: Caribou Ridge, whose green ambitions are anything but modest.

The development's immodest beginnings stem from Colorado's most celebrated former recording studio, Jim Guercio's 3,500-acre' Caribou Ranch, where Elton John, Joe Walsh, Supertramp and dozens of other artists made records in the '70s. After years of wrangling, Guercio ended up selling 2,180 ranch acres to Boulder County, retaining almost 1,500 acres, most of it through a conservation easement.

Guercio also retained some development rights, the upshot of which is Caribou Ridge. Five years in the making so far, Caribou Ridge promises to become the greenest development in Colorado and its largest zero-energy community.

It all started when Will Guercio, Jim's son and Caribou Cos.' director of real estate development, bumped into a German couple. "They said, 'We have great pre-fab, energy-efficient homes.' I was like, 'Sure, sure.' But a light bulb went off in my head: 'This is where we're going--the need to be green,' so I actually flew to Germany to see what they were talking about," he recalls.

Currency exchange rates killed the idea of importing German housing, but Will Guercio left chagrined at Europe's huge green technology lead over the United States. Then he met Davide...