Every year, the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) presents an award to a vibrant, walkable community that has made great progresses in advancing its Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) vision. Located in Fairburn, Ga, Manor at Broad Street is an affordable, senior living community that received a 2017 Development of Excellence Award.
The complex achieved Southface’s EarthCraft Community Certification and EarthCraft MultiFamily Certification, ensuring the well-being of residents by maximizing efficiency and comfort while reducing the overall impact on the environment. EarthCraft Communities offer holistic approaches to development for rural, suburban and urban projects. Through the certification process, communities enhance their health, livability, efficiency and overall market appeal. EarthCraft MultiFamily standards also address a wide range of sustainability considerations, including environmental performance, indoor air quality, building durability, comfort and affordability.
Manor at Broad Street offers senior residents the ability to easily walk to public spaces such as grocery stores, libraries, post offices and pharmacies and has an urbanist feel – it’s designed for residents to safely enjoy connectivity without needing cars to get around. Being able to walk to these places instead of drive adds exercise to errands and promotes health and community vibrancy.
The 88 unit site was transformed by Prestwick Companies and follows a traditional building style that has been used in old city centers. The designers made sure the layout wasn’t surrounded by a sea of parking lots and used sustainable building practices and materials to avoid putting unnecessary stresses on the environment. The architects and builders who worked on the project paid special attention to the operating costs of living in this space and guaranteed optimal indoor air quality, eliminating any potential respiratory issues for the elderly who spend most of their time indoors.
Green features include low VOC paints, formaldehyde free insulation, drought tolerant landscaping, ENERGY STAR appliances, WaterSense toilets and shower heads, low VOC flooring and energy efficient lighting.
For the full list of ARC’s Development of Excellence Award winners click here.
