Full Circle Real Estate Group: Athens Real Estate, Sustainable Real Estate

The Princeton Review named The University of Georgia as one of 18 colleges on its "2011 Green Rating Honor Roll" – a list of colleges that received the highest possible score (99) in its Green Rating tallies this year.

Known for its education services helping students choose and get in to colleges, The Princeton Review just reported its third annual Green Ratings of colleges: a measure of how environmentally friendly the institutions are on a scale of 60 to 99.  The Company tallied the rating for 703 institutions based its institutional surveys of colleges in 2009-10 concerning their environmentally related practices, policies and academic offerings. (www.princetonreview.com)

You can read an update on UGA's Office of Sustainability and the great strides they are making on campus in this week's Flagpole Magazine or click HERE.

Full Circle and J.W. York Homes collaborated with a UGA LEED-Certified Professor and her design students last Fall to design a spec home for The Cottages at Hilltop, a sustainable-concept community.

Jared York was so impressed with one of the group's designs that he decided to build the very efficient, 4BR/3BA house plan the students created. The four UGA students, their Professor Megan Lee and Dean Laura Jolly of UGA's Family and Consumer Sciences School toured the completed home today.

The students were very excited to see their plans come to life! The 1,655 sq foot Energy Star home is a great use of space and includes a room downstairs with a pocket door entry that could be used as an office/den/4th BR. There are three bedrooms upstairs, including a master bedroom and two gorgeously tiled bathrooms.

Click HERE to see photos of this great example of sustainable design.

Back in September, we gave props to UGA students and The Go Green Alliance for starting a grassroots effort to convice UGA President Michael Adams of the importance of a proposed Office of Sustainability. The students put it to a vote and the referendum passed with more than 80% of voters in favor of increasing student fees by $3 per semester to raise funds for sustainability initiatives on campus. However, the decision still hinged on the Presiden'ts approval.

Last week, Adams yielded to student's wishes and approved the new office to coordinate campus energy conservation, recycling and other sustainability efforts.

Read the full article HERE thanks to The Athens Banner-Herald.

As we’ve mentioned over the last couple of months, Full Circle and J.W. York Homes collaborated with a UGA LEED-Certified Professor and her design students to design a spec home for The Cottages at Hilltop, a sustainable-concept community.

The class designed 1,400 to 1,800 sq ft, 3BR/2BA spec homes for the development that incorporates sustainable principles and follows LEED for Homes guidelines. They recently wrapped up the project.

"This was such an exciting learning experience for the students,” said UGA Assistant Professor, Megan Lee. “Because this was their first time working with sustainability, working within a real world simulation, and working with community professionals, the students had many necessary and beneficial experiences.  They've begun to realize that sustainability is both a lifestyle and good design and not a passing trend in design.”

Dr. Lee continues, “I believe they've learned that sustainable design is as much about process of design and building as the products that are used. Most importantly, students learned to make decisions based on tangible restraints of budget, builder/client needs and sustainability.  Also, being able to have professionals at their final project presentations increased their learning and experience by seeing their growing knowledge it valuable in the community.”

Full Circle Broker Patrick O’Brien attended the student's recent presentations at UGA and was thrilled with the finished projects. 

The Red and Black newspaper just published an article on Full Circle's collaboration with J.W. York Homes and UGA LEED-Certifified Professor Megan Lee and her design students. The class has been working for the last month to design a spec home for The Cottages at Hilltop, a sustainable-concept community.

Full Circle Broker Patrick O'Brien is quoted in the article as saying The Cottages at Hilltop project is important for those involved in real estate and housing because it will increase their focus on building at a sustainable level.

The students "are essentially leading the way for design and development with an eye on sustainability," he said. "It's a vital experience for them."

The students are expected to complete the project this month.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE FROM THE RED AND BLACK

As we mentioned earlier this month, Full Circle and J.W. York Homes are collaborating with a UGA LEED-Certifified Professor and her design students to design a spec home for The Cottages at Hilltop, a sustainable-concept community.

The class will design a 1,400 to 1,800 sq ft, 3BR/2BA spec home for the development this fall that incorporates sustainable principles and follows LEED for Homes guidelines. The project is designed to help students learn about the benefits of building sustainable, energy-efficient homes.

The students have completed Phase One, which included gathering site information and research and coming up with three possible floor plans, and Phase Two, which focuses on selecting exterior and interior finishes and equipment.

Assistant Professor Megan Lee said final presentations will be given October 8th. To read more about this project and other sustainable design news, check out Dr. Lee's blog HERE. To see homes for sale in The Cottages at Hilltop, click on our Residential Listings or click HERE.

Kudos to UGA students and The Go Green Alliance for showing some real gumption!

When UGA President Michael Adams told a grassroots group of UGA students the school could not fund a proposed Office of Sustainability, they decided to put it to a vote to see what kind of support they had from their peers.

The referendum passed with more than 80% of voters in favor of increasing student fees by $3 per semester (the price of a cup of coffee!) to raise funds for sustainability initiatives on campus.

Now the student-driven group, the Go Green Alliance, is drafting a proposal for an Office of Sustainability that has to pass a University fees committee, the president's office and the Board of Regents before the $3 fee is implemented and a director is hired. The proposal is expected to be finished next month. If it passes, it would be implemented next Fall.

The students want to establish an Office of Sustainability at UGA to help coordinate initiatives, collaborate with groups within and outside of UGA, and educate the UGA community about sustainability.

According to GreenReportCard.org, a website that grades colleges and universities on sustainability practices, UGA earned a C - overall. 

Sources: The Red and Black, Go Green Alliance

The University of Georgia does not get good grades in national rankings for environmental friendliness - but the campus is making progress, and a new $6 million federal stimulus grant for energy efficiency will help, campus officials say.

UGA got a "D" on the most recent sustainability report issued by the American Association of Sustainability and Higher Education. The Sierra Club, which issues a similar score sheet, ranked UGA near the bottom of 135 schools surveyed, at 115.

"I think we do a lot more than we get credit for," said Kathy Pharr, an assistant vice president for finance and administration. "That said, I think we could better maximize our opportunities."

Gov. Sonny Perdue's office announced last week that UGA will get $6 million for eight energy-saving projects on the main campus, the university's Griffin campus and at the Marine Institute on Sapelo Island.

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL STORY IN TODAY'S ATHENS BANNER-HERALD.

     If you've ever walked through North campus after a football game, you've probably been shocked at how little some UGA fans and visitors respect our beautiful campus while tailgating. It usually looks like a bomb went off.

     This year, UGA has amped up their recycling program to encourage football fans to clean up after themselves and be smart about it. Check out a must-watch video HERE with tips for keeping campus clean. Make sure you utilize the resources available, including NEW Dawg House recycling bins:

• Clear recycling bags are available at any campus parking deck (to find a parking deck, click here), as well as many surface lots on campus. Please bag all recyclables (you can mix cans, cardboard, glass and plastic) and leave them at your tailgate with your trash bags, or

• Deposit your recyclables in the new Dawg House recycling bins. These will be located on your way to the stadium and you can deposit cans, glass and plastic bottles.

     Also, say thanks to the student volunteers you see wearing yellow "Recycle" t-shirts. You can read about their grassroots effort HERE.

     Full Circle Real Estate Group and J.W. York Homes are collaborating with a UGA LEED-Certified Instructor to help the next generation of designers appreciate sustainability.

     Broker Patrick O'Brien and Agent Michael Littleton, along with builder Jared York, recently introduced The Cottages at Hilltop, Athens' only sustainable-concept community, to UGA Assistant Professor Megan Lee and her interior design class.

     The class will design a 1,400 to 1,800 sq ft, 3BR/2BA spec home for the development this fall that incorporates sustainable principles and follows LEED for Homes guidelines.

     The project is designed to help students learn about the benefits of building sustainable, energy-efficient homes.

     "This project gives talented design students a valuable opportunity to take the sustainability principles they have learned in the classroom and apply them in a real world development scenario," said Mr. O'Brien. "From a marketing perspective, it is important that a home be sustainable and efficient in ways that can be seen and touched by the home owner, as well as those that can’t. Interior Designers of the future will play a key role in that presentation."

     Stay tuned for updates on this project over the next couple of months. For more information on The Cottages at Hilltop, CLICK HERE.

BRUNSWICK - Tim Walsh squatted at the edge of one of the historic buildings at Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation Historic Site and broke off a piece.

Normally, that would get a visitor at the state-owned rice plantation in trouble, but Walsh is leading a group of University of Georgia students in a field study in which they fix as well as learn.

As he examined the classic board-and-batten construction, Walsh demonstrated to half a dozen students how the skirting had rotted and only a thick coating of white paint was holding it together. Click HERE to read the full story in today's Athens Banner-Herald.

Kermit the Frog is coming to Athens for this year’s Earth Day celebration to spread the word, “It’s SO Easy Being Green!” The 2009 Earth Day will be hosted by the Go Green Alliance and Physical Plant Division and will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Tate Plaza on Wednesday, April 22nd.

The event will include live music, free food and giveaways and live animals. Display booths with various fun and educational activities will be hosted by many of UGA’s departments and student clubs, as well as participation from various local businesses. Mayor Heidi Davison will also be in attendance.

The goal of this year’s celebration is not only to appreciate the Earth, but to try and teach UGA students how they can do their part to sustain our planet’s health and resources. With the theme, “It’s SO Easy Being Green,” the Go Green Alliance and Physical Plant Division hope to bring not only fun, but education to the day by showing students easy ways to live green. So come on out to Tate and join in the celebration!

For more information on Earth Day 2009 or the Go Green Alliance, please visit the organization’s Web site, www.gogreen.uga.edu. Or check out our blog, www.ugagogreen.tumblr.com.