Jeffrey Place project goes 'green' - Business First of Columbus:

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plans to begin construction in June ona $17 milliomn housing and commercial project at Jeffrey Placre that would employ energy-saving technology and stormwater reuse strategies. Those effortsz could earn it kudos fromthe . National Communituy principal Joe Recchie said the North Block projecg wouldfeature solar-paneled roofs to producs electricity for the 72 residential and three commercial condos planned for the It would also have a geothermal heating and cooling system and a rainwater collection systekm to provide irrigation for the project. Work at the formerr site also has included crushing concrete foundations for use as aggregater to producenew concrete.
All those design and constructionn measures fit into recently announcecd standards for projects seeking the GreenBuilding Council's Leadershil in Energy and Environmentalp Design, or LEED, certification under a pilot neighborhood development program. Recchie seven years ago unveiled plans fora $400 millionj redevelopment at the 41-acre manufacturingh site. He said the projectt "has evolved rather nicely." "We've designes a product that's designed to he said. LEED standards are becoming more widespreade as energy prices rise and communities consider the environmental effectsof development.
The city and its promotedx those standards in the redevelopment of the former Lazaruzs department storecomplex downtown. Todd Boyer, an architect with WSA Studio nearJeffrey Place, said developers have founxd the cost gap between environmentallty friendly design and constructiob and traditional methods narrowing as manufacturers use more recycledc materials in their products. "For developers it becomes a marketingv tool because the public is beginning to understands whatit means," Boyer said.
WSA has severakl LEED projectsunder way, includinhg redevelopment of the B&T Metalds industrial site on West Town Street in It also has completed large school projectsd using LEED standards. Green Building Council spokeswoman Amy Katz said the neighborhood development program will look at the availabilityu of mass transit in projectsseeking certification, as well as whetherf stores and other commercial components are within an easy walk from She said the design and constructionj industries have caught on to LEED concepts.
The neighborhooc certification, she said, "is just the perfect next step for Recchie moved to redevelop Jeffreyt Miningin 2000, when his bought most of the site from He spentg the next two years getting the property rezoned and securinb state and city incentives to help offset the cost of redevelopinhg the industrial site. The incentives included a tax incrementa l financing plan that diverts property taxess to repay bonds that financedd construction of public roads andutility lines. Recchie also landed private financing from Columbus investorGerald S. Jacobs. The project appears to have all its fits andstartsd resolved.
Recchie said the first 11 units ofthe project'es Courtyard Townhomes have been and half of the residences have been sold at Jeffreyy Lofts, a project with 30 condos and three commercial units. That buildinb is expected to be ready in June as another phase of the Courtyard Townhomes and the North Block project getundet way. Recchie said about 150 people have expressed interest in the firstr phase ofNorth Block. He expect s to add a 180-unit section on First Avenues next year. He also expects to begibn construction in 2008 or 2009 ona 216-unit project dubbex Foundry Apartments. "We're really in the fun stag e now," he said.