Project honored as Visionary Award Honorable Mention
Sustainable Land Development Today Magazine
December 2, 2008

Worthy of Recognition        

The field of applicants for the 2008 Visionary Award was wide and deep. Five projects were selected as finalists, with the eventual winner chosen from the field. Each has been featured in SLDT over the last several months. Here are three additional projects that the panel of judges felt deserved some space on these pages to draw attention to their stories as well.

Project: Abercorn Common
Location: Savannah, Georgia
Owner/Developer: Melaver, Inc.

A $30 million revitalization of an existing shopping mall, Abercorn Common is the first all-retail LEED® (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) shopping center in the United States, and contains the first LEED-certified McDonald’s restaurant in the world.

While the developer incorporated a host of sustainable elements into the project, Abercorn Common’s most sustainable concept is in public outreach and education to change the way people think, according to Martin Melaver, CEO of Melaver, Inc.

“That occurred with all of our stakeholders, from city officials to ordinance boards to contractors and subcontractors to our tenants and their customers. The word is rippling outward of how to do more with less, how to be better stewards of our land and community,” he said. Gaining support from retail tenants and regulatory officials was not easy, and took years of negotiation to remove restrictions and get closure on renovation plans.

“That’s the true sustainable element in what we do: seeding a paradigm change in thoughts and actions for the long haul,” Melaver said.

There was a broad spectrum of sustainable elements. A tightened building envelope and high efficiency HVAC systems result in more than 30 percent energy-savings compared to a typical center.

A highly-reflective white roof on the initial phase of the project reduces heat gain. The second phase saw the addition of a greenroof along with a solar panel, which produces hot water.

A cistern collects an estimated five million gallons of rainwater to be used for irrigation. Overall, the development is more than 30 percent more water efficient via ultra-low-flow fixtures, toilets and waterless urinals.

Albercorn’s one-acre parking lot features porous pavement which allows water to return to the water table while reducing stormwater runoff. Preferred parking is offered for those who drive hybrids and for tenants who car pool.

More than 85 percent of construction debris, totaling over 6,000 tons of material, was kept out of the landfill and reused on site. The recycling effort continues through the lifecycle of the project with an active program to reclaim cardboard, plastic and glass.

As for the aesthetics of the project, designers sought a classical and early 20th Century building approach to reflect Savannah’s rich historic background, incorporating stucco and brick as the primary building elevations.

To Melaver, perhaps the biggest challenge beyond convincing tenants and regulators that this paradigm-shift toward sustainable development was the right way to go was to first convince himself.

There is always the fear of failure, fear of looking foolish in the eyes of others and of all the things one doesn’t know about such new innovations.

“I really feel that sustainable development begins with looking in the mirror and taking stock of who you are and what matters to you,” he said. “That’s a challenging proposition.”