We were pleased to host the Northeast Ohio Green Building Coalition last week.

It was terrific to show off the project to such an appreciative and inquisitive group of people in the sustainable design field.

The NEOGBC was kind enough to post some pictures of the event. Take a peak

Event Start Date: 06/10/2010 7:30 am
Event End Date: 06/10/2010 9:30 am

Locations:
Thompson Hine
Address: 3900 Key Center
127 Public Center
Cleveland, OH (map)
ULI Cleveland

Thursday, June 10th 2010

Thompson Hine LLP
Key Tower, 39th Floor *127 Public Square* Cleveland, Ohio 44114

7:30 AM Registration & Badge Pick-up
8:00 AM to 9:30 AM Program & Questions
Questions are encouraged after our presentation.
Continental Breakfast will be served.

Speaker
Josh Rosen, Ben Ezinga and Naomi Sabel
Principals of Sustainable Community Associates

A Young Leaders Group Event
Young Leaders are ULI Members & Prospective Members
“UNDER 35 YEARS OF AGE”.

Please Register by June 3, 2010
YLG Members: $10
Non-Members of ULI - $25

Please note:
Registrations made after June 3rd are considered “at the door”.
There is an additional $20 Fee for “at the door” registration.
For more information and a registration link go to cleveland.uli.org

The first of our 2010 YLG Meet the Developer Breakfasts series will feature Josh Rosen , Ben Ezinga and Naomi Sabel , principals of Sustainable Community Associates (Developers of the East College Street Project in Oberlin).

The series this year will highlight firms engaged in development opportunities related to servicing the needs of colleges and universities and their surrounding communities. The discussion of SCA’s development strategy and the challenges involved in making their project a reality in a down economy and small college town will provide a unique discussion by new real estate developers.

SCA began in 2001 while Mr. Rosen , Ezinga and Ms Sabel were still students at Oberlin College . The East College Street Project began initially as a vision of a community center for local youth, but turned into a vibrant mixed use project that has helped to address several of Oberlin’s long term challenges, including high quality housing for mixed incomes, development of a new business, job creation, and the need to attract more people to Oberlin’s city center.

More will trickle in over the weeks and months to come.

Seeing people walk into their new homes has reminded us that the best real estate development isn’t just about bricks and mortar but also about people and community.

We were fortunate enough to be featured by the blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council. It is really flattering to have such an important non-profit recognize the work SCA and its partners have labored on over the last number of years. Have a read!

LEED ND Project Tour

Date/Time: Thursday, June 03, 2010 3:30 PM to Thursday, June 03, 2010 5:00 PM

Location:
65 East College
Oberlin, OH 44074

This is your chance to hear about and see Ohio’s first completed LEED ND pilot project which is slated to achieve LEED Gold certification. A tour will be given of the East College Street buildings by the development team, Sustainable Community Associates, who guided the project from inception to completion. SCA has handled every aspect of this mixed-use project from funding to design/construction to leasing! It’s an inspired buildout not to be missed.

Upon completion of the presentation and tour, we plan on networking at one of the independent, locally owned tenants on site, Slow Train Cafe (coffee / wine bar). If you can’t make the tour, then you’re still encouraged to connect with the green building community at Slow Train.

No cost to attend. Registration required.

The first retail shop in the East College Street development is about to open. Keep up with Slow Train Cafe on their facebook page for the latest updates. One of the perks of being landlords is that we’ve been fortunate enough to try the espresso and lattes. They’re already the best in Oberlin. In addition to coffee they are serving great food from various Northeast Ohio providers and serving wine, spirits and great Oberlin music.

Shop local and make Slow Train Cafe a part of your regular routine.

Check out the latest footage from the East College Street site right here

GreenStar Home Center will sell furniture, paints and finishes, flooring, lighting, cabinets and countertops, water and energy saving devices, lawn and garden products and household items such as curtains, towels, bedding and accessories. “All of the products offered at Green Star Home Center are healthier, safer, higher quality, more durable and more environmentally responsible alternatives to those available at conventional home centers and design showrooms,” says GreenStar Home Center owner Nathan Engstrom.

Mr. Engstrom believes that GreenStar Home Center addresses the market need for convenient retail access to a broad array of environmentally friendly building materials and household products. “GreenStar Home Center will be a unique destination where clients and visitors will learn about, explore and purchase not only the materials they need to create a green building, but also a multitude of accessories and household products to create a green and healthy home and lifestyle.”

GreenStar Home Center is one of only two similar showrooms in Ohio and will serve homeowners, builders, architects, designers and commercial customers throughout the state.

Owner and founder Nathan Engstrom has ten years of experience working in the sustainability, green building and energy conservation fields.

Nathan served as Oberlin College’s first Sustainability Coordinator from 2007-2010. Prior to that he was employed by Wisconsin Environmental Initiative, a Madison based non-profit, where he was the Program Director of Green Built Home, a voluntary green building initiative that reviews and certifies new homes and remodeling projects that meet sustainable building and energy standards.

We are really pleased to announce Credo Chamber Music has purchased office space in the new East College Street retail, office and housing development. Credo’s new offices will be located next to the new Oberlin College Art Gallery and Studio Space and fronting onto the courtyard area. It is especially gratifying for us to be working with a non-profit organization that shares our values of commitment to community and is willing to invest in downtown Oberlin.

Credo has been serving the Oberlin community for the past seven years by performing chamber music concerts for underserved audiences and devoting hundreds of hours to hands-on community service projects. Started 11 years ago by Oberlin Conservatory’s String Department Chair Peter Slowik, Credo runs a 3-week festival dedicated to addressing young musicians in a complex manner, giving them a broader perspective on their musical gifts, engaging them with their communities, and adding a spiritual dimension to their experience. The structure and objectives of the festival are dictated by Credo’s mission statement: Develop the Gift, Acknowledge the Source, Respond with Service.

Credo attracts the highest caliber of students from across the country and around the world. While other festivals at this level try to draw audiences to a central focal point, Credo’s mission is to take music of a high quality into communities who do not have easy access to the arts—audiences in prisons, nursing homes, low-income housing projects, youth centers etc. In addition to these outreach concerts, students volunteer at local non-profits to complete variety of tasks- anything from organzing a food bank to cleaning up a public park. Last year over 650 volunteer hours were donated to nonprofits and 20 agencies were served with music and labor, reaching over 4,000 people.

We can’t wait for Credo to move into their new permanent home and have concerts in our courtyard.