Urban Jacksonville

The Jacksonville Business Journal reports:

The developer of The St. John, a proposed residential high rise Downtown, has registered for certification in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. Source: Hines goes for green designation for The St. John

Basically LEED is a is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. It promotes sustainable building by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. Here is a link to the LEED page for new construction.

This won’t be the first time Hines, the developer, has received LEED certification so this bodes well for The St. John. The JBJ reports: “Hines has received LEED certification on several projects, including the Gold status for the 1180 Peachtree building in midtown Atlanta, and the One South Dearborn 40-story office tower in downtown Chicago was the first office tower in the state to receive certification.”

Storm water collection and filtration is a hot topic for LEED developers. The St. John should pay close attention to managing storm runoff and all the oil, fertilizer and chemicals it gathers along the way. If they can collect, filter and reuse the storm water some how it, it will never pollute the St. Johns River. For more on LEED certification check out the US Green Building Council.

Just another bit of eco friendly news to report in what seems to be a recurring trend in Jacksonville and around the country. Peyton signs the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and Gov. Crist signs off on sustainability. Jacksonville also has two sustainability blogs now: Sustainabuild and Sustainable Jax. Thanks to Tony for the tip on Sustainabuild!

The Daily Record reported earlier this month that:

The Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Riverfront has applied to be the first “green” certified hotel in Jacksonville through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Green Lodging Program.

So I wanted to look into this program and learn a little more about it. See how easy/hard it is to become certified. What certification means and spread the word to get other hotels interested in the program.

The Green Lodging Program is a voluntary, non-regulatory program established by the State of Florida to reward environmentally conscious facilities (i.e. green hotels) in the lodging industry. The goal is to encourage hotels continually improve environmental performance.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, this initiative encourages hotels and motels to adopt cost-saving green practices that conserve energy, reduce water consumption, protect air quality, and reduce waste. Through partnerships with national trade associations, Green Lodging encourages the adoption of resource-efficient materials and appliances by the Florida hospitality industry.

There are three levels of certification: One, Two and Three Palm Certifications. Here’s an overview of becoming One Palm certified. Conduct Environmental Baseline Assessment (via a downloadable checklist), Commitment & Organization (GM Support– Green Team, Environmental Compliance), meet Core Requirements (Water, Energy, Waste Reduction, Clean Air and Communication) and finally schedule on-site certifying visit.

All those are pretty broad so lets look at the core requirements which are the important ones:

• Water Conservation: towel/sheet reuse, low flow fixtures
• Energy Efficiency: energy efficient appliances (Energy Star certified) and lighting (CFL lighting)
• Waste Reduction: recycling and purchasing products with post consumer recycled content
• Clean Air Practices: green cleaners, HEPA filters, Cleaning AC Units
• Communications: environmental Policy, Hotel Green Team and Guest Feedback

I can go on-and-on or you can read more for yourself if you are interested. If you are traveling this summer and you’re interested in staying in a green hotel here is a list of hotels that meet or exceed the Florida Green Lodging Program requirements.

More: one two

More: one two

The Peninsula condos are sold out. Quite a statement for downtown living. I am looking forward to all the new bodies downtown demanding food and entertainment.

tags: jacksonville, the peninsula, southbank

My boy Levi from Urban Art Warfare reminded me that today is National Go Skate Day. Flatline Skateboards, 904skate, and Skatejax have teamed up for Jacksonville’s first annual go skate day. So grab your skate and head Downtown.

If you want to participate, meet up at 3:00pm in Friendship Park on the Southbank. There will also be a BBQ, product toss and giveaways.

Jacksonville Maritime Museum Study

The prolific kids over at Metro Jacksonville have release another study. Their most recent study looks at the possibility of expanding the aging Jacksonville Maritime Museum.

The study points out 4 reasons why the expansion makes sense.

1. It is an affordable short-term solution to promote downtown vibrancy
2. Jacksonville history and maritime history go hand in hand
3. The museum is in need of expansion and has pledged to raise funds
4. Expanding cultural attractions will compliment thee growing residential/retail base

The study goes on to list 4 alternative sites for the expanded maritime museum. None of them would keep the museum where it is now, on either side of the Main Street bridge. I definitely like the idea of keeping the maritime museum in Friendship Park in some form. I think the proximity to MOSH would offer more opportunities for increasing traffic at an expanded maritime museum.

tags: jacksonville, maritime museum, metro jacksonville, southbank

The St. John rendering courtesy of Metro Jacksonville

Two big news items popped late yesterday the first was the announcement of The St. John, a new luxury high-rise condo development on the Southbank. We have known about the St. John for some time now, I guess this just means it is official. The second, Peyton’s Roadmap to the Future, we hope to post on later today.

Forgive me for not jumping out of my seat with excitement. I’m not holding my breath and I won’t believe it until I see metal in the ground and cranes in the sky. Any rosey ideals I had of development announcements were ruined when The Related Group pulled out of the San Marco Village project. That’s all they really are in the end, announcements. Although the article does say they plan to start pre-sales next month.

Related:
The St. John info
Discuss on Metro Jacksonville
New condo takes height

tags: jacksonville, southbank, the st john