Sustainability : Development News

When The Philadelphia School (TPS) opened its brand new Ellen Schwartz and Jeremy Siegel Early Childhood Education Center at 2501 South Street last September, the project received praise for transforming a neighborhood eyesore into a multipurpose space for students and community gatherings. The hype was channeled mostly towards the building's concept -- a country classroom in the city -- but now, after earning a LEED Silver rating, the project has solidified its sustainability bonafides.
 
TPS, a K-8 educational institution, was founded in 1976 in an old pie factory at 2501 Lombard Street. Local parents were concerned about families fleeing the city for better education opportunities elsewhere. Since then, the school has grown in leaps and bounds, expanding into the entire pie factory.
 
In the late 2000s, still in need of space, TPS looked to an adjacent South Street property with aspirations of creating an education campus for up to 450 students. Now complete, the Schwartz Siegel Building houses four ground-floor classrooms, two for preschool and two for kindergarten.
 
"The new campus is a physical translation of the school's progressive education philosophies," explains Tom Purdy of Purdy O’Gwynn Architects, the firm behind the design.
 
The campus features a 3,100-square-foot eco-friendly school garden, outdoor play spaces that are easily accessible from the classrooms, flexible-use L-shaped classrooms, working gardens, porches to bridge the gap between inside and out, a shared art room and lots of natural light.
 
"We feel we produced a really nice building," says Purdy. "We wanted to be a good neighbor, but still create something clearly different and modern."
 
Construction managers Wolfe Scott & Associates didn’t stop there with smart design principles. The school's sustainable strategies include a large stormwater retention basin under the parking lot, geothermal wells beneath the gardens that heat and cool the building, recycled and regional material usage and stringent waste management practices.
  
Source: Tom Purdy, Purdy O'Gwynn Architects
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

When Farmer’s Road Drive Thru celebrated its grand opening this past Sunday in Chadds Ford, it was the culmination of one of the region’s most ironic adaptive reuse projects. Housed in a former KFC, the new restaurant will feature familiar comfort foods but with a non-fast food twist: healthy, local and sustainably-sourced ingredients.

Courtney Rozsas, owner of Lotus Farm to Table in Media, is the woman behind the concept. She’s had the idea for a healthy fast casual drive-thru for quite some time.

"I've been looking for the perfect location for three years," explains Rozsas, calling the restaurant's site at the intersection of Routes 1 and 202 in Delaware County "the perfect fit."

Inside, a large mounted chalkboard proclaims, "Know where your food is from" and includes a list of the restaurant's purveyors. More than eighty percent of the produce used will be sourced locally, along with 100 percent of the meat and poultry.
 
Ryan Sulikowski, executive chef of Lotus Farm to Table, is overseeing the kitchen.

"I wanted to create a family-friendly restaurant focusing on familiar comfort foods presented in 'better for you' ways," explains Rozsas. "[Sulikowski] was brought on because he likes to take familiar flavors and add a twist."

Sulikowski's menu will feature upgraded takes on classics such as a Stadium Dog -- an all-natural grassfed beef hotdog, sodium-free sauerkraut and low-sodium yellow mustard on a rye pretzel hotdog bun. More out-of-the-box items include the Apple Sandwich, made with local cheddar, local organic American cheese, Granny Smith apple, raw honey and maple sourdough bread.
 
Other touches include an oatmeal bar at breakfast -- it does double duty as a homemade pickle bar at lunch and dinner -- and a build-your-own healthy bento box for kids. Sulikowski and Rozsas are also offering gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options.

"We're catering to individuals who are conscious of what they put in their body," says Rozsas. "We hope that's everyone!"
 
210 Painters Crossing, Chadds Ford, PA
Monday - Saturday 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.; Sundays 7 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Source:  Courtney Rozsas, Owner, Farmer's Road Drive Thru
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

When it comes to stormwater management strategies, there's "smart" and then there's Camden SMART. The city's progressive strategy -- the acronym stands for "Stormwater Management and Resource Training" -- is a public-private partnership created to grapple with the area's severe flooding issues.

This week, SMART is partnering with the City of Camden to sponsor a series of events in honor of Earth Day 2013. Throughout the week (which runs through April 27), activities will enlist the community to help clean up, rebuild and strategize plans for a more sustainable Camden. Monday, the kick-off took place at Camden City Hall, where Mayor Dana L. Redd led a tree planting in honor of late Camden School Board President Aletha R. Wright.

Then, on Wednesday, April 24 at 10 a.m., folks from SMART are partnering with the Camden Board of Education to plant a rain garden at Pyne Poynt School, located in the heart of North Camden.

Other activities include a clean-up of Woodrow Wilson High School and Dudley Grange Park (Friday, April 26, 9 a.m. to noon), an environmental movie screening and several neighborhood greening events.

Earth Week is just the latest in a long list of milestones and triumphs for Camden SMART. Since 2011, the program has garnered numerous partners and major stakeholders, including the Coopers Ferry Partnership, the City of Camden, Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program, the New Jersey Tree Foundation and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
 
In 2012, SMART received the 2012 New Jersey Governor's Environmental Excellence Award, in part for constructing 19 rain gardens throughout the city, an effort that has lead to 1.5 million gallons of stormwater staying out of the sewer system each year.

"Unlike Philadelphia, Camden isn't mandated by the federal government to control our combined-sewer outflows," explains Meishka Mitchell, vice president of the Coopers Ferry Partnership. "Instead, Camden SMART is a community-led effort to combat the city's serious flooding issues."

To continue its fight against flooding, SMART has a busy agenda for 2013, including more rain gardens, rain barrel systems for residents and separating stormwater pipes from sewer pipes in certain neighborhoods.
 
"With the city being recently certified through the Sustainable Jersey program, Camden is becoming recognized as a sustainable city," says Mitchell. "That's important because [stormwater management and environmental stewardship] is a paramount issue facing our city."
 
Source:  Meishka Mitchell, Vice President, Coopers Ferry Partnership
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

When the $43 million Kensington School for the Creative and Performing Arts (KCAPA) was completed in 2011, it became the first public school in the country to earn LEED Platinum certification (the highest designation under LEED). Fortunately, the school was just the first in a series of eco-friendly projects that have transformed nearly 20 acres of land adjacent to the Berks SEPTA stop in Fishtown.
 
Dubbed the "Big Green Block," the site is defined by Front Street, Frankford Avenue, Palmer Street and Norris Street, and includes the Shissler Recreation Center (nextdoor to KCAPA). Within Sustainable 19125 -- a New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC) initiative to make the zipcode the greenest in the region -- the site was identified as a model location for green infrastructure and sustainable education.

NKCDC worked with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) and the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) to develop a green infrastructure master plan for the block. Sold on the project's potential, the Department of Parks and Recreation and Mural Arts were quick to provide additional capital support through partnerships that have resulted in $2 million worth of investment overall.

Pedestrian pathways connecting to the Berks Market-Frankford Line stop, rain gardens, tree trenches, land stabilization, an improved sports field and educational murals have all been developed at the site. According to NKCDC's Shanta Schachter, these improvements have kept "90 percent of the site’s stormwater out of sewer pipes" -- and that's just from the first round of improvements.

For phase two of the Big Green Block, more than 60 residents participated in vision sessions to identify the community's needs. PHS translated the ideas borne from that process into a landscape plan. Through NKCDC’s ongoing strategic partnerships with the city and other stakeholders, phase two construction is underway.

The improvements reflect the space's history as a former rail yard -- new benches are being made locally to reference sealed railroad ties and the long-buried cobblestones from the site have been re-exposed. The vacant lot on the south end of the block is also being reimagined as a playfield for young kids and improved dog park, complete with additional seating and plantings.

Just weeks from completion, "the space already looks really great," says NKCDC's Diana Jih. "The improvements build off how the community user groups (Palmer Doggie Depot and Fishtown Athletic Club) we partnered with were using the site and adjacent land already.”

On April 20, NKCDC will hold a volunteer day from 10am-1pm to put the finishing touches on the playground and dog park. The day's agenda includes planting native species, and spreading mulch. The ongoing maintenance of the site is all volunteer run, so there’s a need for  as much support needed as possible.

No official ribbon-cutting date has been set, but NKCDC expects it will occur in early June. "The site will be open at the beginning of May," adds Schachter. 

Moving forward, even more improvements are planned. The site's basketball court will be reconstructed to better capture stormwater runoff from the rec center's roof and an improved spray park with education elements will be built thanks to Mural Arts and PWD.  

Source:  Diana Jih and Shanta Schachter, NKCDC
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

The South Philadelphia High School campus features little green space and few outdoor play areas. This means that there are limited opportunities for hands-on learning outside of the classroom and few options for community gatherings.

To remediate the situation, the Lower Moyamensing Civic Association is partnering with the school to make the grounds more green and less gray. On April 9, they are launching a Greening Master Plan crowdsourced fundraising campaign. The organizers promise to transform the school's campus into a model of sustainability for both students and the community at large.

The campaign -- which is being hosted on Projexity.com -- aims to raise $26,300. That money will fund the planning process as well as a garden coordinator position at the school. Philadelphia-based design and engineering firm Roofmeadow will be in charge of developing a cohesive vision for the campus.

When completed, the renovated space will feature ground-level rain gardens, street trees, expanded vegetable gardens and a rooftop farm that will serve as an interactive educational platform. The salaried garden coordinator will maintain the improvements and lead programming for both students and the community.

According to Kim Massare, president of the Lower Moyamensing Civic Association, the fundraising drive arose out of necessity. "The school yard is already informally used as a park in the neighborhood," says Massare. "The Master Plan will formalize that activity."

The fundraising campaign will last 60 days, and be followed by a one-month design process led by Roofmeadow. Once that work is complete, grants and other funding opportunities will be sought.

For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation, click here.

Source:  Kim Massare, Lower Moyamensing Civic Association
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

This spring, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) is bringing together prominent landscape architects and civic horticulture enthusiasts for a three-day conference showcasing Philly landscapes. The event will launch Friday, May 17 in Center City.  
 
The conference, Civic Horticulture -- which is being held in conjunction with the Cultural Landscape Foundation -- will feature nationally recognized speakers discussing how Philadelphia has used civic horticulture (a discipline that bridges aesthetics, economics and ecological systems) to successfully shape the city's urban resurgence.
 
"The conference builds off what we've done to transform the city's public spaces," says Drew Becher, president of PHS. "A lot of the speakers have never been to Philly, so this gives us an opportunity to show how other places can learn from our example."
 
Free expert-led tours will follow the conference. Dubbed What’s Out There Weekend, this series of tours will showcase more than two dozen significant examples of Philadelphia's standout landscape architecture, including hidden gems in Fairmount Park, on the grounds of the Rodin Museum and at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  
 
The conference will take place in tandem with the unofficial unveiling of a draft form of PHS’s new civic landscapes plan for Philadelphia, developed with PennPraxis. The plan is the first of its kind in over 20 years.
 
"In the late '80s or early '90s, a plan was completed that laid out landscape projects in and around Center City," explains Becher. "More recently, we looked at the plan and said, 'Wow, we completed a lot of the projects.' We decided a new plan was needed."
 
The new plan, which is still months away from being completed, includes proposals that are divided into three categories: image makers, place makers and partner makers.

With place and partner makers, improvements will be made to specific neighborhoods or significant plazas -- this is where small moves and neighborhood partnerships can make a big difference. Implementing a pocket park or a streetscape improvement program are examples of work in this category.
 
Image maker improvements, meanwhile, aim to improve the look and feel of major transportation areas and corridors in the city. Areas of interest include Philadelphia International Airport, Amtrak’s northeast corridor rail line in North Philadelphia, Girard Avenue over the Schuylkill River, Vine Street in Center City and Broad Street from Passyunk Avenue up to Temple University.
 
For these corridors, improvements could include illumination enhancements, gateway and signage improvements, art and object installations, planting and surfacing improvements, or landform creations and creative screening.
 
"[At the conference in May], we will introduce the many ideas in the plan and begin to reach out to the public for feedback," adds Becher. "From there, we’ll put together a cohesive plan and begin its implementation." Extensive public outreach is expected to begin in earnest in September.

Source: Drew Becher, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Earlier this month, the prospect of land banking in Philadelphia made serious progress when Councilwoman María Quiñones Sánchez and Councilman Bill Green reintroduced enabling legislation in the City Council. Now, a diverse advocacy coalition of builders, civic associations, realtors, design professonals and other anti-blight organizations is urging the bill's immediate passage. To aid their cause, PennFuture, the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (PACDC) and other allies have launched PhillyLandBank.org.

The establishment of a land bank allows a city to acquire or group parcels of land in a strategic manner, facilitating development opportunities. Most importantly for Philadelphia, it allows municipalities to acquire property while discharging liens and other claims, charges or fines in the process -- currently, many local properties languish, saddled by delinquient property tax bills.   
 
As Flying Kite has reported, land banking has long a topic of discussion in Philly. Many see it as an efficient strategy for dealing with the city's 40,000 vacant and abandoned properties. Currently, blighted properties drag down the total value of city real estate by $3.6 billion, or about $8,000 per household.

Up until recently, local land banking efforts have stalled -- mostly due to the fact that the state legislature had yet to authorize cities to establish them. That legislation passed the General Assembly in Harrisburg last October, finally giving cities this powerful tool and renewing the fight to bring a land bank to Philly.
 
PhillyLandBank.org is the movement's biggest advocacy tool to date. PennFuture's Andrew Sharp believes the website will allow higher levels of cooperation and communication between the diverse set of backers.
 
"The first thing we’re aiming for is getting a hearing on the bill in April," says Sharp. That hearing, he explains, is critical to reaching the group's goal of getting the bill passed by June.
 
Going forward, the website will send out emails, feature regular updates on the city's push to establish a land bank and offer lessons from land banks across the nation.

Source: Andrew Sharp, PennFuture
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

A historical society satellite office - brewery combo, a showcase for incremental stormwater strategies, an opportunity for façade renovations for small businesses -- these are just a few of the many ideas generated at last weekend's urban design charrette, co-hosted by Flying Kite at the Germantown Mennonite Historic Trust.

Flying Kite partnered with the Young Architects Forum (YAF), the Germantown United Community Development Corporation (GUCDC) and Philly Office Retail to make the charrette a reality. Over 40 designers and community members came together to generate ideas for improving the 6100 and 6200 blocks of Germantown Avenue -- a stretch of Germantown's commerical corridor that borders Mt. Airy.

"Even though I know YAF has a talented group of designers to pull from, the level of ideas attained in a few short hours still amazes me," says YAF's Jeffrey Pastva. "The group was able to quickly assess the state of the area and offered multiple ideas on how to engage the community on a path forward."

Solutions ranged from grand schemes to small fixes. It was the small ideas -- those that can easily overcome traditional barriers such as cost, implementation and community buy-in -- that particularly interested folks from GUCDC.
 
"There were great ideas for short-term uses -- gardens, temporary plazas for outdoor movies -- and creative, art-focused uses, like an art/bus stop with a green roof that could bring energy and vitality to the area," says Garlen Capita with GUCDC. "Those ideas can definitely gather enough momentum to become real projects."
 
Capita was also impressed with the designers' focus on transit and sustainability. "There was a strong push to have a more green, sustainable approach to redevelopment that was more sensitive to the needs of walkers and transit users, and not just focused on more parking and auto-oriented users,” she explains.

The energy and enthusiasm in the room during the charrette was palpable. "It got a lot of people talking," says Liz Einsig Wise, executive director of the Mennonite Historic Trust. "It encouraged folks to meet new neighbors, strengthened partnerships with institutions like Settlement Music School, and [pushed people] to have more conversations towards wherever this takes us." 

"Our next step is to present some of the initial concepts to members of the local business alliance, historical organizations and faith-based organizations, and to meet individually with the business owners and organizational leaders," says Capita. "We’ll discuss the vision for the corridor, priorities and action items that we can work to support and eventually implement."

Source: Jeffrey Pastva, Young Architects Forum; Garlen Capita, Germantown United CDC; Liz Einsig Wise, Executive Director of the Mennonite Historic Trust
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

The Ambler Boiler House is a paragon of adaptive reuse. After a century as an asbestos production plant -- followed by a period of vacancy and a short stint as an EPA-classified brownfield site -- the site has achieved a complete turn around, earning LEED certification in its new life as a multi-tenant office building.
 
The transformation was 10 years in the making for the iconic structure, which sits adjacent to Ambler’s SEPTA regional rail station. After years of financial setbacks and false starts, in late 2011, the folks at Summit Realty Advisors found the final piece of a complex monetary puzzle needed to make the $16 million project a reality  -- they earned a $2.5 million EnergyWorks grant through the regional EnergyWorks program.

This was the first commercial loan awarded through the program, which up until then promoted energy-efficiency improvements in housing and urban development projects. 
 
"Ambler has experienced a substantial rejuvenation over the past 15 years," says Matthew Heckendorn, principal at Heckendorn Shiles Architects, lead designers for the renovation. "The Boiler House was an abandoned eyesore and shell with environmental contamination issues. It now has a new life as a successful commercial property."
 
The project employs numerous sustainable design strategies: it's transit-oriented, an example of adaptive reuse, a case for brownfield redevelopment and a showcase for creative financing. With its new LEED certification, energy efficiency can be added to the list. LEED-mandated features include a geothermal well, high-efficiency glass, and a reflective roof system.
 
The architects were particularly happy to preserve the plant's historic heritage. "What we take most pride in is the preservation of rough, industrial details married to a clean and contemporary office design," says Heckendorn.

Two of six tenants have already moved into the 48,000-square-foot facility, with one tenant space under construction and three others under design. The next round of tenants are expected to move in this spring and summer. 

Source: Matthew Heckendorn, principal, Heckendorn Shiles Architects
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

This past Thursday at the Academy of Natural Sciences, three teams were awarded the top prize in Infill Philadelphia: Soak It Up!, the widely publicized and much anticipated national green stormwater design competition. (Flying Kite previewed the contest in October.)
 
The event was a collaboration between the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD), the Community Design Collaborative and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In all, 28 teams, 101 firms and 315 professionals from across the country submitted proposals that explored the potential of green infrastructure tools. Submissions came from places as diverse as Seattle, New York and St. Louis.  

Teams were asked to address the unique stormwater management challenges and opportunities at one of three Philadelphia sites. Each site embodied a different urban context and land-use challenge (industrial, commercial or neighborhood).

Submissions ranged from greening existing warehouse facilities to creating neighborhood-level EcoDistricts and tackling sewage overflow problems, to determining creative ways to green surface parking lots and large shopping centers.

Of the 28 entries, nine finalists were selected to present their entries to a jury and the public. The jury then selected three winners – one for each study area.
  
"We wanted projects that were innovative," explains juror Nathan Boon with the William Penn Foundation. "We also looked for submissions that could actually be implemented, ideas that can be replicated over many areas."
 
So many creative ideas came out of the exercise that PWD leaders plan to not only work with the winning teams but also the losing teams to make the designs a reality.
 
"Our expectations were far exceeded," says Joanne Dahme from the PWD. "It's given us so many new ideas for new ways to manage stormwater."
 
Over the next 25 years, PWD plans to spend $2 billion on green stormwater infrastructure improvements at varying scales across the city. Many of the competition’s ideas will be used as prototypes.

The three winners are as follows:
 
Industrial: "Leveraging Water + Plants in Zero Lot Sites," led by local firm Roofmeadow.
Neighborhood: "Greening the Grid," led by local landscape architecture firm OLIN.
Commercial: "Retail Retrofit," led by local firm Urban Engineers Inc. with Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects of New York. 

Source:  Nathan Boon, William Penn Foundation; Joanne Dahme, Philadelphia Water Department
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Thanks to innovative stormwater practices at the Water Department and the EEB Hub’s research into developing energy-efficient buildings, Philly has been generating real solutions behind the buzzwords "green" and "sustainable." Now the suburbs are getting in on the action too – the new Morphotek Inc. manufacturing plant in Exton recently received global recognition, winning the 2013 Facility of the Year Award for Sustainability.

The Facility of the Year Awards recognize state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing projects across the globe that utilize innovative technologies. Morphotek’s plant did just that, incorporating sustainable design, construction and operating features. In the coming months, the plan is expected to earn a LEED certification of Silver or higher.

"The Morphotek Pilot Plant puts Pennsylvania on the map with one of the world's first LEED-certified pharmaceutical buildings," says Robert Dick, principal with Precis Engineering out of Ambler, one of the firm’s responsible for constructing the $80 million, 60,000-square-foot facility. Precis Engineering teamed up with Arcus Design Group Architects, Inc. and HSC Builders & Construction Managers, Inc.
 
Sustainability was integrated into the plant’s design and construction process, starting with remediation of the site (a former brownfield) and ending with the installation of on-site solar panels and water and energy conservation systems.

"Our collaborative design team worked closely with Morphotek to design and execute the project…with emphasis on both sustainability and operational efficiency," says Dick. "We are honored that the Facility of the Year experts recognized our team effort and project results."

The Facility of the Year Sustainability Award will be presented to Morphotek, Precis and the rest of the design team this April in New York City. Additional recognition will come at the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) National Meeting in November and in upcoming issues of Pharmaceutical Processing and Pharmaceutical Engineering magazines.

Source:  Robert Dick, Principal, Precis Engineering
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

It’s been a few short years since Postgreen Homes made headlines with their award-winning 100K House. Since then, they’ve held true to the project’s defining principles, delivering eco-friendly new construction housing that is also affordable. The developers are now introducing a new home model to the Philly market: the Snapback Project in East Kensington.

Designed by award-winning contemporary architecture firm Interface Studio Architects, Snapback delivers a powerful punch despite its smaller than average stature.

In Philadelphia, most new construction townhomes are three stories tall, at a minimum. The Snapback units are two stories, but with an added bonus: a basement that’s five feet higher than standard. This allows more light and air to enter and gives homebuyers more flexibility with the space.

According to Chad Ludeman, president of Postgreen Homes, the idea is to deliver a flexible house with three floors worth of potential space for the construction cost of two. "The concept was solidified when we consulted for a developer in Chicago who brought to our attention that most new homes in the Windy City are constructed this way," says Ludeman.

With a higher-than-average ceiling height, the basements offer the homebuyer the opportunity to customize the home. Ludeman believes families can grow into the house, leaving the space unfinished at first but, over time, finishing it out as a spare bedroom for children, a home office or guest suite.

The homes, which are currently being framed, are selling for $300-$350 thousand, a price tag Ludeman says would have been much higher had they built traditional three-story homes. "The buyer is probably saving forty to fifty thousand dollars with this two-story model," he explains.

Ultimately, that’s what it’s all about for Ludemann and Postgreen: building new construction units with price points attainable at the Area Median Income of a Philly household. For market rate homes in the city, that number is $200-$450 thousand.

With other projects like Duplexcellence in South Kensington selling for as low as $250 thousand, Postgreen now has 14 units of affordable market rate housing under its belt. Building where land is cheap, keeping homes small and using basic finishes keeps costs low, while still allowing the projects to have a modern feel and sleek design.

"We’re not a non-profit," says Ludeman. "We still have to make money, but we’re constantly looking for ways to pass savings on to homebuyers."

Source:  Chad Ludeman, Postgreen Homes
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Come spring, the long-awaited eco-friendly reNewBold development will be well under construction at 16th and Moore Streets. Planned for the former site of the Francis M. Drexel School, the project is a big step for Newbold, a neighborhood undergoing major revitalization.

Once completed, the project will boast 18 owner-occupied townhomes and one corner commercial space. It’s the first privately financed new construction residential project in the area in well over 50 years. And to top it off, it screams green.

Designed by Interface Studio Architects in conjunction with construction manager Postgreen, the homes will feature bicycle parking, green roofs, bamboo flooring, triple pane windows and on-sight stormwater mitigation practices. The designers are aiming for a 50 percent reduction in energy use from a similarly sized home.

Developer John Longacre of LPMG Companies expects the first phase of the project to be completed before summer, with full build-out anticipated by the end of 2014. "We can have the units built and sold within 18 months of starting construction," he explains.

That achievement is a long time coming for Longacre: Developing this particularly property has been "quite a challenge" due to the arduous process of clearing the property’s title. "It’s taken several years for us to clear the property of numerous liens," he says. "Now we’re finally ready to move forward." 

Longacre sees the project as the "missing piece" in Newbold’s rebirth. "When [LPMG] came down here 10 years ago, there wasn’t much going on," he says. "Since then, we’ve strategically tried to bring businesses and residents to the area and tried to get slumlords to improve their properties."

That mission has been a success -- the area now features numerous South Philly institutions, including Ultimo Coffee, South Philly Tap Room, Miss Rachel’s Pantry and the American Sardine Bar.

Longacre is also aiming for affordability: units will range in cost from $250,000 to $325,000. Despite all the delays, three have already sold. 

Source:  John Longacre, LPMG Companies
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Thanks to Greenworks Philadelphia, the city’s ambitious sustainable action plan, Mayor Nutter is committed to making Philadelphia the greenest city in the country by 2015. Thankfully, he has a major partner in Veolia Energy North America, a leading operator and developer of efficient energy solutions with a big local presence. In January, the company completed a multi-million dollar investment in its Philadelphia district energy network, converting it to 100 percent "green steam."

The green steam project will reduce the carbon footprint of Philadelphia by 70,000 metric tons each year. When combined with the company's other green initiatives, that number jumps to 430,000 -- or the equivalent of removing 70,000 cars from the streets annually.

According to Veolia's Elinor Haider, that reduction singlehandedly "helps the city achieve 10 percent of its [20 percent Greenworks] goal."

It’s no surprise that a company like Veolia can have such a large impact on a citywide initiative. Its Philadelphia district energy network is the third largest energy system in the United States. "We provide steam to 500 buildings with 100 million square feet of total space," explains Veolia's Michael Smedley. Most of their clients are located in University City and Center City.

In fact, the University of Pennsylvania is the company’s largest customer, responsible for 40 percent of their business. Veolia is in negotiations to renew that contract, adding Penn to the list of institutions -- including Thomas Jefferson University, the Barnes Foundation and Drexel -- that have either recently renewed or agreed to long-term lease agreements.

While big clients with long-term contracts are the global firm’s primary targets, Smedley and Haider say smaller-scale work also drives their green market edge. "We feel very responsive to customers' desire for green living," explains Haider.  

Source: Elinor Haider and Michael Smedley, Veolia Energy
Writer: Greg Meckstroth