Greenbridge Developments: Bringing LEED Gold to North Carolina
by Treehugger Interns on 02.10.07
There surely can’t be a Treehugger out there who has not heard of William McDonough, eco-architect and co-author of Cradle to Cradle. Now his architecture firm, William McDonough and Partners, has designed a ground-breaking new development in downtown Carrboro, North Carolina. Greenbridge, as the project is called, will be a mixed-use development incorporating solar energy, rain water harvesting, living roofs and many other treehugger-friendly features. The developers claim it will be the first LEED Gold certified mixed-use development in North Carolina.
While it is not due to be complete until 2009, the project is already attracting a great deal of attention. Not everyone is happy though. Carrboro and Chapel Hill have traditionally had very strict rules about high-rise buildings, and some residents have expressed concerns that Greenbridge, a nine-story development, will alter the feel of the town. However, with 50% sold already, it seems many locals are only too happy to see options for modern green living in their town, however tall they may be.
[Written by: Sami Grover]
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Going to the (Green) Chapel & We're Gonna Get Married...
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Absolutely no one in this neighborhood could afford to live here. Why is it not called gentrification when green condos are plopped down into a neighborhood?
A better question would be why these projects seem to always be intended for gentrification? If you want to visibly revitalize an area, simply limit the pool of buyers to people from surrounding neighborhoods (giving preference to those displaced by the project), and keep rent/payments unnaturally low for a few months. Ecological stewardship doesn't have to be a privilege.
Which begs the Question. If your new 9 story building brings shade to a person's already installed solar paneled roof. Could that person ask for compensation? I.e. Wire me in.
Small correction: This building is in the jurisdiction of Chapel Hill, NC. Its literally feet from Carrboro, BUT, to us locals there is a big difference in the approval process and politics of development. Not to mention where the tax money will go... and it borders on a historically black neighborhood that is struggling to retain housing for moderate to low income home owners. Its a bad situation who fate was hijacked long before this project came along. I still hope there will be opportunities for families to afford homes near by. Last week the local school system approved the construction of a elementary school within a mile of this location. With luck we may have a stronger community instead of a weaker one. Damn its complicated!