SPRING 2014 • FLOURISH 49
M
any people dream big. Few of them make
their dreams come true. When the dreams
include transforming four city blocks of
Sebastopol into The Barlow — arguably the
nation's first consciously sustainable, organ-
ically oriented business community — it takes a special kind of
character to do it.
But for Bernard "Barney" Aldridge, founder and majority
owner of Sonoma County's innovative new 18-acre Barlow
neighborhood, dreaming big is a way of life.
"We think of our new development as a state of mind,"
said Aldridge, tall, fit and striking, a guy who manages multi-
million dollar deals in flip flops, jeans, a plaid shirt, knitted
watch cap and calls himself more of a producer/artist than a
businessman. "This whole place is coming together very natu-
rally" he outlined as we walked The Barlow's revitalized area
between Sebastopol Avenue and Morris, with its epicenter on
McKinley and Depot Streets. "While there are many types of
businesses, what most of them have in common is that they
are about food and drink, and bringing people together. And
making it possible for people to watch the process of making
food and drink."
A Visit To The Barlow
Sebastopol's Sustainable Enclave
by leslie harlib
photos by stuart lirette
