West Village- Triangle Business Journal GREEN Award Winner

West Village Urban Loft Apartments is the winner under the Green Building Management Project category. West Village was developed and is owned by Blue Devil Partners, and is professionally managed by Drucker & Falk, LLC.

West Village has 453 urban loft apartments and 250,000 square feet of commercial and retail space in the heart of Downtown Durham. With grants from the City of Durham and the Cleanwater Trust Fund, the property features approximately 5,000 square feet of green roof area and storm water treatment systems that include bioretention gardens vegetative filtration systems. These include cisterns that collect and recycle rainwater through courtyard landscapes and fountains. Certified bamboo and recycled antique pine floors limit impact on natural forests.

"Historic preservation is the ultimate form of recycling," says Fred Dean, Regional Property Manager. "At West Village, we believe that our social and environmental responsibility should go a few steps further. That is why our community has been designed to limit its impact on the environment and ensure long-term sustainability." The primary green products are the buildings- they are 100 plus years old.

The property will be honored in a luncheon on Friday, October 23, 2009 at the Raleigh Crabtree Marriott.

Congratulations to Blue Devil Partners and Drucker & Falk's management team at West Village Urban Loft Apartments on this outstanding achievement.

N.C. Recycling Mandate Effective October 1st

Please read the following, courtesy of the Apartment Association of North Carolina.

During the 2005 legislative session, the N.C. General Assembly passed House Bill 1465, banning plastic bottles from landfill disposal effective October 1, 2009. The law does not apply to plastic containers used for motor oil or pesticides. Essentially, the state is mandating recycling of plastic bottles.

At least 95 percent of North Carolina residents have access to some type of plastic bottle recycling through local government programs – although the “access” is highly variable in urban North Carolina, ranging from specialized service at apartment properties in some major cities such as Raleigh and Charlotte to managing a single recycling center in a city or a county where individual households must transport recyclables to a single point on a regular basis. Unfortunately, North Carolinians collectively currently only recycle 18 percent of PET plastic bottles! In apartments,several major North Carolina cities provide recycling service at the property level. Others do not. Many cities have evolving programs, such as going to so-called “singlestream” recycling programs (this allows co-mingling of recyclables instead of having to saddle apartment residents with the duty of having to separate recyclables such as paper, plastic, and aluminum).

There are many ways to recycle plastic bottles. To determine the recycling services available in your city or county, use this link: http://p2pays.org/localgov../ncwaste.html. You can also work with your current trash hauler or recycling service provider to start a program. If you need additional help or guidance, call the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance at 919-715-6500 or 800-763-0136.

Raleigh fire station goes green with new roof

Thank you, WRAL, for covering this story! This fire station is located at North Hills, which is very close to our property, Park & Market.

A north Raleigh fire station has a new roof that doubles as an above-ground garden.

Engineers started Wednesday on the new roof at Station 9, at 4465 Six Forks Road. It is designed to be environmentally friendly as it will substantially reduce storm water runoff. About half of the rain will stay out of the gutter and be absorbed into the plant system.

Because the system absorbs rain so well, designers said the owners will not have to water the roof.

“We’ve been wanting to do a green roof for a couple years,” said project engineer Amy Hathaway, of Raleigh Public Works.

Assistant Fire Chief Bryant Woodall said this is the first of several green projects the department has planned.

The city is paying for the roof, which is estimated at $123,000.

“In the long run, it will save quite a bit,” project designer Stan Caton said. Caton said the roof not only improves water quality by reducing runoff, it also cuts down on energy costs by adding insulation to the building. The project is expected to be completed next week.

“It’s definitely something unusual and I think it’s going to add a lot of character to the station,” Hathaway said.

Station 9 is the only one in Raleigh to receive a green roof. Some other fire stations are expected to get rain gardens and cisterns installed to collect water. Federal stimulus funds will help fund those projects.

Eco Lube Now Accepting Electronic Items

The City of Raleigh Solid Waste Services Department is partnering with Eco Lube to set up a mini-recycling drop-off center that will accept electronic items- "anything with a cord." Examples include old computers, stereo equipment, small appliances, and TVs. Residents are allowed to bring materials for recycling and must drop off items during Eco Lube’s operating hours. Store hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Residents are asked not to leave items at the location outside of store hours as it can jeopardize the success of the program.

The Eco Lube Service Station is located at 4901 Atlantic Avenue.

In addition to being a recycling center, Eco Lube is doing its part in being enviromnental friendly in a traditionally non-environmentally friendly industry:

• They recycle everything they can, including filters.
  
• They use re-refined oil, which saves 85% of oil sourcing. If all oil change shops used this method of cleaning and reusing oil imagine how much less our dependence would be on oil drilling!
  
• They use only local businesses for oil and other supplies.
• For do-it-yourselfers, they will gladly accept your oil, antifreeze or transmission fluid and will recycle it for you.

For more information, check out their website: http://www.ecolubeusa.com/ and call Carlo today at (919) 850-2106 to schedule your own green oil change!