News

by Harold Bubil
HeraldTribune, Real Estate Editor

Sarasota's newest architectural landmark brings the city's modernist tradition to an unlikely place: a resort and campground.

Recently celebrating 50 years in business, Sun-n-Fun on Fruitville Road, just east of Interstate 75, is known for its collection of mobile homes, recreational vehicles and modest buildings that serve the needs of its clients. Now it has a monumental piece of design — the newly opened, $5.5 million Indoor Pool and Wellness Center, an 18,000-square-foot structure that houses a 25-meter therapy pool, exercise rooms and locker rooms on the west side of the 147-acre campus.

"We wanted the 'wow!' factor," said Tim Deputy, Sun-n-Fun's general manager.

They — Sun-n-Fun management and the facility's owner, Royalty Resorts of England — got it with a gleaming white structure that has walls of glass and a curving roof arching from south to north, and faces the large, 50-year-old outdoor pool.

"It just brings a smile to your face because you know you are in a resort," said Tim Deputy, Sun-n-Fun's general manager. "You are not in a campground, you are in a resort, and I think it makes a quality statement.

"We like to think of ourselves as a leader" in the resort and campground industry, Deputy said. "We knew that by making that statement, it would take us that far ahead ... to what our new guests will appreciate."

It seems to be working...read more

As we approach the closing of 2011 we wanted to share with you some of the highlights from this past year. We are delighted to report that By the River is now completely full, and we are providing affordable housing and life-enhancing programs for 41 seniors.

Our residents are building community within By the River in a multitude of ways. One building has proudly displayed the residents' photos with the banner "We are Family". Residents are encouraged to participate in community development within each building and throughout the campus. Each building selects a representative to meet with management monthly to provide input into the decision making process. Frequent community barbecues have become the norm.

We continue to expand our programs including a recent holiday craft fair where residents sold beautifully woven and crocheted items among other wares, which were all hand made by residents. Weekly classes focus on nurturing the body, mind and spirit through art, music, health lectures, yoga, breathing, and exercise. One of our residents has even taken on the role of instructor for an exercise class and fills in for the instructor of our "Living with Stress" class!

Volunteerism is encouraged with our residents. Three days per week residents help prepare food for the "Feed Everyone" program, which distributes healthy meals to needy families in Gifford. Once a month, they assist with preparing packages that contain vital medications for the sick and impoverished people of Haiti.

As our programs evolve to suit the growing needs of low-income seniors, we are also challenged with providing financial assistance to help fill in the gap as many seniors are faced with choosing between buying medication or food when they reach the end of each month. All donations make a difference and are so gratefully received. It takes only $14 a day for a senior to be housed for a full year, fed one hot meal per day, and be given the opportunity to have community and to participate in wellness-fostering programs. Your generosity can make a big difference in our ability to care for our frail, low-income seniors in an environment where they feel well and maintain their sense of independence and dignity.

Please take a few moments to read the attached card and consider how you might help the low-income seniors in our community. Thank you so very much for your time, interest and support. The staff and residents of By the River wish you and your loved ones a beautiful holiday season.
 

With Gratitude,
Durga Das Hutner
President

BY THE RIVER WEBSITE

PROJECT PAGE

Sarasota’s Carlson Studio Architecture, a regional leader in sustainable design, won 3 awards at the USGBC Florida Gulf Coast Chapter LEEDership Awards ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 19 in St. Petersburg. CSA received awards in the following categories:

Outstanding Project of the Year LEED-CI (Commercial Interiors) for the design and construction of the firm’s own offices, located in downtown Sarasota.   The offices of Carlson Studio Architecture received LEED- CI Silver Certification from the USGBC in 2007, making it only the third LEED-CI Certified project in Florida at the time of certification.  Sarasota’s RC Moore Construction was the General Contractor.

Outstanding Project of the Year LEED for Schools (K-12) for the Learning Gate Community School, located in Lutz, FL.  This project received LEED Platinum certification from the USGBC, and was also recognized as the first LEED Platinum Public Charter School in the Country.  Local consultant Two Trails was the LEED administrator for the project, and Charles Girard was the General Contractor.

Outstanding Project of the Year LEED-NC (New Construction) for the design of the Cancer Support Community’s new facility located in Lakewood Ranch, FL.  This project received LEED Gold Certification from the USGBC.  Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc. was the General Contractor.

The LEEDership Awards program, hosted by the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the USGBC, was started in 2010 as a way to support the chapter’s mission of encouraging environmental knowledge and values as they relate to the built environment. For more information, visit www.usgbc-fgc.org.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized green building certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. (http://www.usgbc.org)

After extensive review, the judges for ENR Southeast's annual "Best Projects" competition met Sept. 8 and determined this year's winners. The judges chose 35 winners from a group of more than 100 entries from the states of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Alabama, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. They picked a top winner in each category, along with "Award of Merit" winners in many of the categories. The Palm Avenue Garage earned and "Award of Merit" in the transportaion catagory.

The Palm Avenue Garage was designed by JPA Architects and built by Suffolk Construction. Carlson Studio Eco-Consulting provided green design & LEED Administration services for the project team. The Garage is seeking LEED CS Gold certification with USGBC's LEED Greenbuilding rating system.

Green featrures include LED lighting, shade structures on the west fascade, daylighting in the retail and parking spaces, and PV panels on the roof. Energy Effiecent mechanial units and low VOC materials were also included in the building.

see the other winners

In the recent Chariety Register issue of Sarasota Magazine, the Cancer Support Community's new home was described as an Instant Landmark.

"Best Proud Moment - The crowd at the gala celebrating the Cancer Support Community's state of the art new $6 million Building Hope practically levitated with excitment. This instant landmark, with its soaring arch, was the perfect backdrop for the heartfelt speeches, congratulations and dancing under the gorgeous tent." -Sarasota Magazine, Pam Daniel

The Cancer Supprt Community Florida Suncoast is a non-profit organization providing free psychological and educational services for cancer patients and their loved ones. Our programs adhere to the “Patient Active” concept and focus on providing support, education and hope for anyone affected by cancer. The project was LEED NC Gold certified under the USGBC's LEED Green Building rating system.

The Cottonwood Cove Marina on Lake Mohave is registered for LEED Gold certification with the U.S. Green Building Council, making it the world’s first floating green building. This eco-friendly marina, located in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area just outside of Las Vegas, was designed by Florida’s premier green design team Carlson Studio Architecture (CSA). CSA, based in Sarasota, was selected for this unique project because of its diverse sustainable design experience including eight previous LEED Certified projects.

“Every building type has the potential to perform at a higher level with integrated environmental design considerations,” explained Project Architect Michael R. Carlson, AIA, LEED AP BD+C. “We jumped at the chance to work with this team to design a first-of-its-kind, first-class marine facility.”

The National Park Service and Forever Resorts, LLC, who will manage the marina operations at the park, conducted a dedication ceremony on June 6 at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area’s Cottonwood Cove Resort and Marina on Lake Mohave.

“All of us involved on this project are pioneers,” said Rex Maughan, Chairman and President of Forever Resorts. “We are very proud of this project, especially Michael Carlson and the exceptional vision he had in designing this building and this whole project.”

The floating eco-friendly structure features sustainable modular construction and state-of-the-art energy-efficient and environmentally responsible materials and fixtures. The modular wall and roof system is constructed of Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs) designed to lessen the amount of construction waste, improve the insulation value of the building and provide a tighter envelope than traditional construction. The SIPs also lowered the overall weight of the building, decreasing the load on the floating foundation system. Decking is made of a composite of rice hulls and recycled plastic, and the exterior stucco contains recycled tire particles. Use of low or no volatile organic compound materials, paints and adhesives will rid the building of the typical “new building” smell, improving the overall indoor air quality.

The project’s key green building design features include:

• Extensive energy saving materials and systems, including high-performance insulated glass
• High-efficient HVAC equipment and delivery systems
• Extensive use of recycled and regionally extracted and/or manufactured materials, such as steel, drywall, metal studs, carpet, etc.
• Finish materials, paints, adhesives caulks and sealants that contain low or no volatile organic compounds to ensure healthy indoor air quality
• Clerestory windows that provide natural daylight and views to the outdoors
• Operable high/low windows provide natural ventilation, lowering the dependence on air conditioning
• The standing seam metal “cool” roof lowers heat gain by reflecting the solar energy, and allows for future installation of PV electrical panels
• Recycled and recyclable building and landscape materials
• Prevention of night sky light pollution

Lake Mead National Recreation Area is the fifth most visited national park in the country and is located adjacent to Las Vegas. Its 1.5 million acres, which include Lake Mead and Lake Mohave, hosts more than 7 million visitors each year. (http://www.nps.gov/lakemead)

Forever Resorts, LLC is an authorized concessionaire of the National Park Service that focuses on properties with access to nature and one-of-a-kind surroundings for vacations. (http://www.foreverresorts.com and http://www.foreverearth.net)

Cottonwood Cove Resort and Marina is located 90 minutes from Las Vegas and offers lakeside accommodations, boat rentals, the Cottonwood Cove Café and a full-service RV park. It is situated on Lake Mohave. (http://www.cottonwoodcoveresort.com)

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized green building certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. (http://www.usgbc.org)

May 27, 2011     Sarasota, FL – When it opened last fall, the Cancer Support Community Florida Suncoast’s new facility turned heads with unique architectural elements like the reclaimed 150-year-old Florida pine entry pillars and environmentally-friendly building design.  The 11,142-square-foot building nestled on 2.2 acres of landscaped grounds surrounded by a nature preserve is home to a unique mission: providing free psycho-social support services to anyone affected by cancer.  Now the Sarasota nonprofit and those it serves have new cause for celebration: the building is the first health facility in Sarasota County to earn LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

“Facilities where health and healing occur are some of the most important construction types to benefit from green building design,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President of the U.S. Green Building Council. “Green buildings seek to reduce use of and exposure to toxic chemicals. For cancer patients with compromised immune systems, that means a healthier environment for healing.”

Carlson Studio Architecture and Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc., the design-build team for the first-of-its-kind facility, will host a LEED Dedication Ceremony to formally recognize the Cancer Support Community’s accomplishment at 11:30 AM on Monday, June 13.  Representatives from the USGBC’s Florida Gulf Coast Chapter will preside at the event.  The ceremony is open to the public and building tours will be available.

“The Cancer Support Community board and staff demonstrated extraordinary dedication and perseverance to sustainability goals as well as adherence to best practice, evidence-based design standards throughout the process.  Their commitment to doing what was in the best interest of their mission and the people they serve was not only inspiring to the design team, but kept us all focused on creating an optimum environment where hope and healing could occur,” said U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Florida Gulf Coast President Michael Carlson of Carlson Studio Architecture.

LEED is an internationally recognized third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2000, LEED serves as a tool for buildings of all types and sizes. LEED certification offers third-party validation of a project’s green features and verifies that the building is operating to objective design standards. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. 

The Cancer Support Community’s $6.1 million project on a five-acre site just east of Interstate 75 in Lakewood Ranch is designed to be an optimal healing environment, combining healthful materials, art, design and nature in a “green” facility to support people whose immune systems often have been compromised.

The facility was financed through philanthropic donations and grants. “Our community should take great pride in this model facility and in the extraordinary generosity of local donors and foundations during a very difficult period,” said Alfred Rose, campaign chair.

Prior to construction or site design, all project team members, staff as well as program participants met for a series brainstorming, design meetings known as “eco-charrettes” to build consensus for programming elements of the building and to identify desired sustainability aspects and features of the facility.  This collaborative, integrated, whole systems design process helped prioritize and rank the desired healthy, green, sustainable and environmentally-friendly aspects of the building.  Including:

Proper site orientation:  The buildings are perfectly aligned along an East/West axis, so the long sides of the buildings face North and South.  This orientation has a positive impact on all other green decisions because the windows, overhangs and even the placement of the photovoltaic panels on the roof collectively bring the buildings all the advantages of natural light, while maximizing the best use of the sun and minimizing adverse effects such as heat gain.

Energy efficiency and water conservation features reduce the building’s operational costs and conserve resources.

The building is constructed from the most eco-friendly materials – there are no harmful chemicals in the paint, wood, concrete, adhesives, sealants, etc.  This produces a healthy environment for patients with compromised immunity.

The facility is located on a parcel of land located on a nature preserve that takes advantage of nature’s healing properties. The building overlooks a beautiful vista of natural scenery and wildlife.

Sustainable Design/Build Team Members

Architecture: Carlson Studio Architecture

Construction: Willis A. Smith Construction

Civil Engineering: Wilson Miller

Landscape Design: DWY Landscape Architects

Engineering: Stewart Engineering

Structural Engineering: Hees and Associates

Interior Design: TRO Jung/Brannen and Ringling College of Art & Design

Project Management:  Johnette Isham, Capacity by Design

Timeline:  Programming design began in 2006. Construction began July, 2009.  The building was completed and certified for occupancy in October, 2010.
 
Cancer Support Community Florida Suncoast provides hope, education and support to people affected by cancer, and all of its programs are provided free of charge. Through participation in support groups, informational workshops and mind/body classes, people affected by cancer learn vital skills that improve the quality of their lives and make them better partners with their medical professionals. Since 1996, more than 11,000 individuals have made more than 60,000 visits to the center in Sarasota and at satellite locations throughout the area.  For more information on programs and services:    www.cancersupportsuncoast.org

SEARCHLIGHT, NEV. (May 2011) – The National Park Service and Forever Resorts, LLC are dedicating the first floating building project in the world to be registered for LEED® certification on Monday, June 6, at 1 p.m. at Lake Mead National Recreation Area’s Cottonwood Cove Resort and Marina on Lake Mohave.  The building, which will serve as the marina’s operations office, is expected to be certified at the LEED® Gold rating.

“It was a visionary team made up of private industry and government led by our partner Forever Resorts that transformed this idea into action,” said Superintendent Bill Dickinson. “We’re setting the standard for eco-friendly floating buildings. There’s no better place than in a national park to do that.”

“Forever Resorts is dedicated to conservation and environmentally sustainable practices, and we couldn’t be more excited to make history by developing a building that embraces the eco-friendly principles we support,” said John Schoppmann, executive vice president, Forever Resorts. “We will use this building not only to welcome our customers, but also to educate them about sustainable building practices.”

Carlson Studio Architecture, based in Sarasota, FL, was selected to resolve the unique challenge of designing a floating green building based upon their diverse sustainable design leadership.  “Every building type has the potential to perform at a higher level with integrated environmental considerations,” explained Project Architect Michael R. Carlson, AIA, LEED AP. “We jumped at the chance to work with this team to design a first-of-its-kind, first-class marine facility.”

Lake Mead National Recreation Area is the fifth most visited national park in the country and is located adjacent to Las Vegas, the nation’s top tourist destination. Its 1.5 million acres, which includes Lake Mead and Lake Mohave, hosts over 7 million visitors each year. The park offers an unparalleled variety of outdoor experiences, a surprising contrast that complements a Las Vegas or Laughlin, Nev visit. (http://www.nps.gov/lakemead)

Forever Resorts, LLC is an authorized concessionaire of the National Park Service dedicated to providing a collection of destinations that provide hospitality services throughout the world. Forever Resorts focuses on properties with access to nature and one-of-a-kind surroundings for vacations. (http://www.foreverresorts.com and http://www.foreverearth.net)

Cottonwood Cove Resort and Marina is located 90 minutes from Las Vegas and offers lakeside accommodations, houseboat and powerboat rentals, the Cottonwood Cove Cafe and a full-service RV park. It is situated on beautiful Lake Mohave, part of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which features miles of unspoiled shoreline, plenty of secluded, sandy beaches, crystal-clear water and consistently high lake levels (http://www.cottonwoodcoveresort.com).