Two years ago, Congress was in the midst of trying to pass a major energy bill. During the ensuing debate, an obscure tax provision that provided incentives for the inclusion of sustainable and energy-efficient building technologies in new construction received undue and negative attention. The concept of the provision was simple: to provide an incentive to incorporate environmental design and construction concepts into buildings of every type — office, retail, residential and hotel. Add them at a large enough scale and a potential paradigm shift could occur, both economically and practically. The result? Bring bleeding-edge and expensive technology into the mainstream of not only the design and construction world, but also into the lives of everyday Americans.

According to proponents of the bill, one potential outcome of this provision would make it possible for a McDonald’s or Hooters franchise to be built as models of energy-efficiency and sustainable construction. The argument was, “What better way to provide a very real and accessible example of building ‘green’ to the average person?”

Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, this particular attempt at passing a new energy policy was labeled the “Hooters and Polluters” bill and went down in flames on the floor of the Senate. There were plenty of provisions in that bill that were quite energy inefficient and not necessarily aligned with the best interests of our natural environment. Overall, though, the attempt to provide the opportunity to bring innovative and green technology into the daily lives of average citizens was laudable, and it hinted at where the next evolution of the sustainability movement should take us.

goal: blue-collar green

A good friend and an important member of our team at Atlantic Station (a 138-acre mixed-use brownfield redevelopment in Atlanta), Peter Bahouth, phrased it best one meeting when he said our goal should really be about creating “blue-collar green.”

At its most basic, “blue-collar green” is about bringing green building into the mainstream, and making it a normal way of doing business for companies. It’s about taking the ideals of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) — the nation’s leading coalition of leaders from across the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work — and translating them in a way that others understand. For Atlantic Station, it’s about showing other developers how it can be done.

According to Bahouth, for so many years the environmental community has found itself energized by impending threats and the need to stop something – whatever it was. Simple catch phrases like “Save the Whales” and “No More Nukes” became popular bumper stickers, which focused the public’s attention on some important issues. It was a defensive approach, however, and a proactive strategy was needed, especially as it related to the built environment.

smart growth exemplified at atlantic station

Environmental success can only be achieved with the incorporation of both immediate and long-term changes, which many environmentalists understand. Note the smart growth movement: exemplified by redevelopments like Atlantic Station, the smart growth movement allows the environmental community to be part of building something positive and visible, and provides the opportunity to reach people through the construction of the very places they live, work and play.

Prior to helping us and coining “Blue-Collar Green,” Bahouth ran The Turner Foundation (established by mogul Ted Turner), where he oversaw the allocation of millions of dollars in the support of environmental causes. Before the Turner Foundation, he ran Greenpeace for a number of years. His unique perspective and background may seem at odds with his participation on a real estate development team, but in reality they underscore a meaningful relationship.

Including someone like Bahouth on the development team of a $2+ billion mixed-use redevelopment would never have been possible without the tremendous vision and unyielding commitment of the two individuals leading Jacoby Development, Inc. (JDI) and AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp. – the two companies that formed Atlantic Station, LLC in 1999. Both Jim Jacoby, chairman & CEO of JDI, and Kevin Fitzpatrick, president of AIG Global Real Estate, provided the “top-down” leadership and support necessary to plow new ground while challenging the status quo so easily adhered to by architects, engineers and contractors.

Though both individuals focused on making Atlantic Station a model of smart growth and sustainable development, Jacoby and Fitzpatrick come from different places.

Jacoby, a long-time retail developer, runs a small, Atlanta-based company. Though environmental stewardship was not originally the focus of his work, his decision to redevelop Atlantic Station serves as the foundation for his legacy: working with companies to create a place, save a space or find the best use for the precious natural resources of land, air and water. It’s not only that he is leading the restoration and rehabilitation of Florida’s Marineland and partnering with the native Hawaiian community on the Kona Coast of Hawaii - it’s also that he decided not to develop highly valuable land (1,600-plus acres) along the Patuxent River and in southwest Florida.

Fitzpatrick, on the other hand, heads up one of the largest development organizations in the world. AIG Global Real Estate’s portfolio includes more than $10 billion of assets under management spread out over 53 million-square-feet in more than 50 countries. Fitzpatrick is providing an underlying foundation of environmental stewardship and sustainability to AIG Global Real Estate’s vast holdings. For example, buildings in Hong Kong and London have recently been recognized for their high standards of sustainable design and construction, and the Spruce Peak development in Stowe, Vermont, is on the forefront of environmental innovation.

The personal conviction of these two individuals has been channeled into one of the nation’s largest urban brownfield redevelopments, Atlantic Station, located in the heart of Atlanta.

building a “live, work, play” environment in atlanta

Hotel 12 (left) and Park District (above) are part of the 12 million square feet of vertical development Atlantic Station will house at full build-out.

Originally home to the century-old Atlantic Steel Mill, the property was uniquely sited at the confluence of two of the busiest highways in the country – Interstates 75 and 85. Including more than 12 million-square-feet of vertical development at full build-out, Atlantic Station will provide homes for more than 10,000 residents; jobs for more than 40,000; and a place to visit with friends, catch a movie or grab a bite to eat. While the sheer size and magnitude of the redevelopment can be daunting, its very scale provides the opportunity to reach so many people across a wide spectrum of environmental awareness, political persuasions and personal inclination.

Those who live, work and play in Atlantic Station today may have little appreciation of the 180,000 tons of soil that were removed to remediate the site. They may have little interest in the fact that the lake in the middle of the community’s largest greenspace is actually reducing and pretreating the stormwater runoff generated on-site. They may not realize that thousands of tons of air emissions are being eliminated by the community’s free transit system. The fact remains, however, that Atlantic Station is having a significant and positive impact on Atlanta’s environment and has become part of the everyday lives for thousands of people.

To bring these and many more ideas central to Atlantic Station’s sustainable strategy into the forefront of public discourse, we’ve gone out of our way to weave a message of environmental protection and sustainable practice into the DNA of the community. We’ve made green development and smart growth a prominent part of the website, we’ve included those messages in our advertising and marketing of the retail shops and restaurants, and we’ve supported environmental organizations through fund-raising activities. Slowly, we’re showing others that environmentalism and sustainable practices are not only things you do as an individual for a particular cause, they are also ideals you support as a member of a larger community, where these things are already important and the added peer pressure of “everyone’s doing it” actually serves the greater good.

triple bottom line benefits

Situated at the confluence of Interstates 75 and 85 in what was originally the Atlantic Steel Mill, the urban brownfield redevelopment site is having a significant and positive impact on Atlanta's environment.

“Blue-Collar Green” as a concept is only possible because the decision makers at Atlantic Station realized the benefit for the triple bottom line: economy, environment and society. They have made a commitment to the concept and worked to show others what is possible. General acceptance and use of the concept, though, will only happen if the very practices, technologies and concepts covered in this magazine become accessible, affordable, and, most importantly, understandable to the general public. And that, simply said, is the goal of Atlantic Station: to create a great place to live, work and play in a section of Atlanta’s central business district long overlooked for economic development; to provide a tangible example to our residents, workers and visitors of what living in a sustainable community means; and to provide an opportunity to export what we’ve learned across the city, state and nation.

We had one good idea: let’s clean up a steel mill. Little did we know that the process would provide us with many good ideas contributed by so many talented people. Speaking of which…keep them coming — we’re just getting started.

171 17th street building (office tower)

location: atlantic station, atlanta
size: 500,000-square-feet
leed certification: silver, awarded in 2005 (the first leed silver-core & shell certified high-rise office building in the world)
products used
carpet: monterey carpet
electrical energy star lighting & appliances: tenant.
exterior doors and hardware: schlage and other product firms
green roof: sarnafil
plumbing and water conservation systems: american standard (low-flow plumbing fixtures)
elevators: fujitec america
granite flooring and countertops and stone: associated stone imports
exterior windows: viracon (low-e glass and insulated glass)
interior adhesives and sealants: carlisle coatings and waterproofing inc., ductmate inc., hercules chemical company inc., hilti corporation, la-co industries, laticrete international inc., permatex inc., shaw industries inc. interior paint: duron

Wachovia’s headquarters is located in the 171 17th Street building.

the atlantic station community utilized the following green building products and services:

concrete (construction): thomas concrete, blue circle (now lafarge), allied
concrete stamping/pavers for walks and landscaping: pavestone pavers
elevators: schindler
hvac systems: maxon design build district chilled water system
exterior doors: curries for hollow metal
exterior paints/finishes: sherwin-williams
exterior roofing: firestone and sarnafil
exterior windows: coan millworks
masonry (construction): lafarge
steel (construction): anasteel, ameristeel, smi, canam
wood (construction): georgia pacific