QUARTERLY 15 CHURCH GOES LEED PLATINUM BUILDING BETTER WITH SUSTAINABLE FEATURES
MEET TIM COPELAND OUR HORTICULTURAL MASTERMIND
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SUPPER SHARING FOOD WITH OUR COMMUNITY
NEW YEAR NEW YOU RESOLUTION-WORTHY EVENTS THIS SPRING
A NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS OF SPECIALIZED REAL ESTATE GROUP COMMUNITIES
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The winter winds are brisk, but it’s always good weather to build healthy communities and connect neighbors! In this issue of Connection, we introduce Tim Copeland, who embraces nature every day as the horticultural mastermind behind the thriving jungle of native plants, veggies, and berries at Eco Modern Flats. We highlight our annual tradition of sharing food with neighbors through a free community meal—and there’s still time for you to join in! And we’re pleased as punch to show off our latest piece of hardware, the LEED Platinum Seal earned by our repurposed office building in downtown Fayetteville. As always, we’ve handpicked some of our favorite community events to brighten up your winter days, plus some of your snapshots of life at home. Thanks for making your home with us, and Happy New Year!
— Specialized Real Estate Group
2• SPECIALIZED REAL ESTATE GROUP
CUBE MUSIC, the work of Craig Colorusso, brought light into the dark days of December at Uptown Fayetteville. Photo by Jake Halbert.
BEFORE
AFTER
SUSTAINABLE FEATURES Green roof
Rain screen with 100-year finish
Permeable parking
Drought tolerant landscaping
15 CHURCH GOES LEED PLATINUM BUILDING BETTER You might have noticed something a little different about our office building. The difference is more than skin deep—it’s one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in town. We just received LEED Platinum certification, the highest level of green building certification available. Thoughtful features inside and out contribute to the prestigious rating. For starters, the building itself is recycled. It was built in 1955 as a warehouse for Ozarks Electric Cooperative and later served as a television studio. In addition to serving as office spaces for us and Modus Studio, it also includes a barbershop and second story apartment with rooftop deck.
DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS • 31% reduction of potable water usage due to efficient faucet, toilet, and urinal fixtures. • Energy efficiency improved by 21% over a baseline modeled comparison to a similar building constructed to the ASHRAE 90.1-2007 energy efficiency standard. • Over 97% of the original building’s structural elements were reused. • 100% of the interior paints and coatings, adhesives and sealants, composite wood, agrifiber products and flooring systems contain minimal or no VOC. • Over 87% of the on-site construction waste was diverted from the landfill through recycling. CONNECTION QUARTERLY: SPRING 2018 • 3
NATURAL IS BETTER: MEET YOUR HORTICULTURIST TIM COPELAND
b� Emalie Cockrell To those who live at ECO Modern Flats, Tim Copeland’s face is familiar and welcome. Tim is the king of horticulture, organic gardening, and native landscaping for Specialized Real Estate Group. You’ve seen him working hard in the garden, tending to the landscape, or sorting recycling. He always wears his hair in a ponytail under a worn ball cap; he can usually be seen wearing headphones and listening to baseball games on his radio. Tim grew up here in Fayetteville, with the backside of Mount Sequoyah as his playground. The woods and grasses of Arkansas affected him so much that, upon enrolling in the University of Arkansas, he decided to get his BA in botany, followed by an MA in agriculture. He then created his own landscape company, working as designer, contractor, installer, and maintainer—he did everything. He became involved with Specialized while ECO was being built, and has stayed on since, varying in roles somewhat, but always taking care of the landscape. Tim’s gardening philosophy is, in his own words, “natural is better.”
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TIM’S VISION FOR HIS WORK EXTENDS FAR BEYOND ECO MODERN FLATS TO THE HEALTH OF THE WHOLE REGION’S ECOSYSTEM.
Tim has maintained a totally organic vegetable garden at ECO for over five years, using no synthetic pesticides at all to keep away pests or disease. His preferred method of maintaining a healthy garden involves farmscaping: by planting Arkansas native plants, especially tall grasses, he can attract insects and animals that are natural predators of the pests that would invade the garden. These native creatures keep the garden healthy and promote a thriving ecosystem across the whole landscape. Native plants are the key to Tim’s goals for the landscapes he cares for. He is incredibly knowledgeable about what Arkansas’ land looked like before humans arrived, and he aims to do as much as he can to recreate that in the corners of land under his care. 4 • SPECIALIZED REAL ESTATE GROUP
The native grasses he plants at ECO require little maintenance, and they create symbiotic relationships that benefit the larger ecology of the region: the grass seeds from ECO make their way down the road and into the nearby creeks—or even Beaver Lake—where they can take root and help maintain fragile riparian areas. Tim’s vision for his work extends far beyond ECO to the health of the whole region’s ecosystem. If you would like to get to know Tim better (which I highly recommend!), one of the easiest and tastiest ways to do that is by getting involved in the community garden at ECO. He is usually working in the middle of the day: find him and strike up a conversation. Ask where you can pull weeds in the garden, what he’s been working on, or what he plans to plant in the spring garden events (coming up around the middle of April). Work alongside Tim for even a short time and you’ll see the his credo, “natural is better,” in action.
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Tim's Picks
TIM’S GARDENING PHILOSOPHY: “ NATURAL IS BETTER.
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COMMUNITY EVENTS
NOW OPEN: JUICE PALM Arkansas' first Certified Organic Restaurant, now open at Uptown Fayetteville Shops!
THE BUFFALO HEADWATERS CHALLENGE January 26th-28th Join Ozark Off Road Cyclists for an epic winter adventure that—for those of you who love mountain biking—could be the most fun you’ll have all year. Ride your mountain bike through the rugged and challenging Buffalo National River forest. Three days of mountain bikes, music, food and friends just 50 miles east of Fayetteville. ozarkoffroadcyclists.org SUNDAY SUPPERS January 27th and 28th Join us in feeding our neighbors in need. Sunday Suppers is a program driven by Feed Fayetteville in partnership with several area churches. We will be helping out again this year by shopping and prepping on Saturday, then cooking and serving on Sunday. With a variety of tasks both days throughout the afternoon, there’s a job for everyone. Check your email for an invitation or with your community manager to sign up! TRAIL CLEANUP February 22nd, 2-4pm Join your neighbors for a brisk and beautiful winter jaunt as we tidy up one of the newest additions to Fayetteville’s trail network. Plan to meet at Greathouse Park and we’ll walk the new Cato Springs Trail. We’ll bring the bags and gloves. Check with your community manager before heading out — if the weather turns frigid, we will reschedule. WALTON ARTS CENTER: SEEK March 4th SEEK Fayetteville invites college students and young professionals to experience the arts in new and exciting ways. SEEK returns in conjunction with the 20th Anniversary of the hit Broadway musical RENT. With a SEEK ticket, you get special access to the show and an exclusive after party – drinks are included in your purchase! Tickets are just $30 and limited seats are available. Buy now to secure your spot! waltonartscenter.org/SEEK COW PADDY RUN March 30th The Cow Paddy Run is comprised of a 5K and a 1K Fun Run at Gulley Park in Fayetteville, AR hosted by The Spark Foundation, a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to positively impact our community by providing increased access to health and fitness opportunities. Proceeds support innovative educational projects in schools through the Fayetteville Public Education Foundation as well as our youth and community outreach programming. cowpaddyrun.com 6 • SPECIALIZED REAL ESTATE GROUP
MOVING TOGETHER CHALLENGE
GRAB A TRAINING BUDDY AND WE WILL PAY YOUR REGISTRATION FEES!
Any two (or more) SREG tenants or employees: Train for a race or ride together, and we’ll pay you each $30 toward your registration fees.
Fill out the form at: specializedreg.com/movingtogether
Tag your race day photo with #sregmovingtogether and we will mail you each a check for $30!
SUNDAY SUPPERS CONNECTING NEIGHBORS AND SHARING FOOD
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haring food is a cornerstone of building healthy communities, and the winter is one of the hardest times of the year for our neighbors facing hunger. For the fifth year, we are providing a hot meal to food insecure individuals in Fayetteville in partnership with Feed Communities’ Sunday Supper program. Around 100 people will arrive for the meal, and we strive to produce a healthful hot meal served with cheer. This year as last, Ryan Boswell, the farmerin-residence at Uptown Fayetteville Apartments, will be curating a menu of locally-sourced produce and meat, and we need your help to prepare and serve it! Find details in the Community Events Calendar on page 6.
Photos of 2017 Sunday Supper by Connor Cockrell
Building healthy places and connecting neighbors means that we consider not just the qualities of buildings, but the connectedness of the neighborhood surrounding them. A walkable neighborhood with a unique sense of place just feels better. It’s this feeling that we aim to capture in each of our projects.
We consider efficiency, beauty and health in every decision we make.
We create opportunities to move—through design, events and service.
We build and conserve places that connect people with nature.
We see growing and sharing food as a vital part of every community we build.
CONNECTION QUARTERLY: SPRING 2018 • 7
15 NORTH CHURCH AVENUE, SUITE 103 FAYETTEVILLE, AR 72701
ECO MODERN FLATS @68pat
UPTOWN APARTMENTS @lifewithirwin
WILSON PARK APARTMENTS @arkie_em
HOME IS WHERE YOUR STORY BEGINS.
START IT WITH US UPTOWN APARTMENTS @claire.fossey
WILLOW PARK APARTMENTS @shayne_b