|
|
     |
|
|
|
by Andrea Mosher
At a time when every American road seems to be swarming with gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and farmland is developed into residential neighborhoods practically overnight, hope for saving the environment appears to be dwindling. But through the media, formal education, and general knowledge, environmental awareness among Americans has actually been strengthening over the past years. Many Americans are facing and addressing the realities of depleting natural resources and damage to the environment.
Relatively simple and effective answers include recycling and composting. These solutions have been beneficial and continue to play a tremendous role in reducing waste, yet the problem of an unhealthy environment persists.
New possibilities for eco-friendly lifestyles are emerging, not only through published guides like The Twin Cities Green Guide, but also through broadening new concepts in sustainable living.
The once unimaginable idea of a sustainable village has recently come to life in the Lowertown area of St. Paul. The Lowertown Depot, a user-friendly and Earth-friendly place to live, is being created from an area that was a natural shame.
The four-acre piece of land on the city's east side is edged by the Lowertown Bluffs behind and railroad tracks on the west. The land is currently littered with trash and is considered a brownfield (spoiled land, unsuitable for general use). The soil is contaminated, and the expanse along the railroad tracks is populated only by an occasional homeless person.
Building a vision
Despite the area's bleakness, Jeff Wallis of Mondo Management was able to see in it an innovative opportunity. Its proximity to downtown St.Paul, westward-looking view of the skyline, location within the urban core, and easy access to bike trails and highways all recommend it as an affordable and convenient site for almost any sustainability project.
When Wallis bought the land and its dilapidated brick building, the remarkable location and Wallis's interest in alternative transportation led him to consider using it for housing. It could provide housing that would allow people to bike to work and not have to live in downtown. The transportation possibilities pushed Wallis to further explore the potential of sustainable design. With no formal background but an itch to develop an Earth-friendly community, Wallis decided to research sustainable design, technology, and products.
The Lowertown project will essentially be a sustainable village that will include commercial, living, and office space. The total project, which will include nine to 12 buildings, should be complete in five to seven years.
The first housing unit will be created from the existing industrial brick building. The structure will be retained, but insulation, a new facade, and an additional level will be added. To address the soil contamination problem and at the same time provide parking, the soil below the building will be excavated and replaced with a parking garage.
The building will become customized condominiums. Two other buildings that will hold additional living and commercial space will be included in the first phase, which will be completed in 2003.
Sustainable designs
Saving resources and sustaining the environment is an integral and defining part of the village—whether it's considering energy sources, appliances, or construction.
"We're doing everything possible in the confines of our budget," Wallis says as he explains how they are working off a normal building budget and replacing as much as possible with sustainable features.
In addition to using the existing building, the plan includes on- and off-site wind turbines and a limit of one car per condo. Owners will be charged for an additional car, unless it is a hybrid or electric car.
Most of the wind towers will probably be off-site, although some smaller windmills will be set up on-site, primarily as a backup. One wind tower can produce nearly enough power to fuel 250 homes, and Wallis hopes to use wind to power the whole village when construction is complete. Residents will share ownership of the towers, and any remaining energy will be sold to Xcel Energy. They will still be connected to the power grid, but this net billing practice will keep energy costs low and improve the environment.
Other ideas, which have yet to be deemed sensible and effective for the project, include greywater and blackwater systems of water recycling, biocomposting toilets, geothermal heating and radiant floor systems. Although he hopes to include these ideas, Wallis says they are trying to avoid anything that is experimental or uncertain.
The Lowertown design is not solely based on new technologies. One way to help the environment is to reduce the use of cars. The Lowertown design has taken an old idea, Main Street U.S.A., and reused it to encourage people to live and work at the same place. Both residential and commercial units are being built together on site so residents don't have to commute. Other more primitive forms of Earth-friendly living, such as on-site gardening and composting, will also be supported.
Carrying the idea through
"There is a lot of serendipity in this project," says Joe Otte, an environmental engineer involved in the project. Obviously, the project will be the product of much thought and hard work, but it seems Wallis had some luck. Not only was the land and price right (the site was cheap because of the contaminated soil)—the time was also right. The Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary has been proposed for 26 acres next to the site. The projects complement each other, and both groups are able to work together to improve the whole area. The park's bike trails, for example, fit both groups' objectives.
Wallis and a business partner initially funded the project, but he says he is hoping to obtain city assistance, through grants for sustainable design features and monetary aide for cleaning up land long used as a dumpsite.
Prices of the first phase units range from $100,000 to $300,000. The units are intended to be affordable to provide the sustainable living alternative to everyone.
"There are a lot of people who would choose the sustainable alternative if it were a choice, but it's just not a choice," Wallis says. The demand already exists, he says, and the Lowertown Depot project is just "providing the choice."
Although there will be no formal regulations beyond the car limit, Wallis expects that building tenants will share concern for the environment and will encourage others in the village to follow sustainable living practices. Wallis predicts that once people move into the community, they will be more conscious of what they do.
Wallis says the title "village" does not indicate it will be a utopia of extreme environmentalists; rather, it will be a neighborhood where "the infrastructure is there for the people to live sustainably." The buildings and community will be much like any other community. Compared to a suburban neighborhood, Wallis says, "you're gonna see the odd wind turbine, but other than that you won't know the difference."
Wallis looks to the future with concern. He wants to "have the system ready when it really does get down to the critical point," which he implies is essentially the present. "We're going to do it. That is the difference with this project—it is not a conceptual project."
The Lowertown project is the nation's first sustainable urban village on this scale, but Wallis hopes that "if this is a model project, other developers will do it. We don't want to be the only ones doing it; we hope that other people will pick up on the idea and that someone else will create sustainable communities."
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
www.merriam-park.org/landuse.html
www.lowertown.org/LRC/index.htm
