"We haven't figured out how to embed one of those digital chips in newsprint (yet), but if we had been able to do so for this article, you would be hearing "Kind of Blue" right now.
Influenced by the contrasts of the seminal 1959 Miles Davis-Bill Evans jazz masterpiece, Scott Guyon has a thing for opposites: smooth versus textured, structured versus unrestrained, density versus space. Since establishing his Studio for Architecture in Lexington in 1985, the New York born Guyon has developed a style that fuses a Southern vernacular with modernism, resulting in a spectrum of award-winning structures, from distinctive rural residences to the TOMO and Nagasaki restaurants of Lexington.
In the spring of '07, however, Guyon, a downtown resident for 25 years, will finally realize a dream: NewPast, an environmentally savvy condominium loft complex now materializing in the 600 block of West Main Street.
The designer of the multi-use "500s on Main" rising across from the Lexington Center, Guyon is watching his second project take shape only a block to the west. Designed to highlight contrasts between the historical and the contemporary, the 17-unit residential enclave is "unapologetically green," according to the project's promotional brochure, "committed to following the 'EarthCraft' principles for sustainable construction."
The EarthCraft House program, launched in 1999, is a partnership between the Atlanta-based Southface Institute, a "green building" organization that promotes sustainable homes, workplaces and communities, the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, corporations such as Georgia-Pacific and Home Depot, various industry organizations and Georgia state government.
Qualifying for EarthCraft certification requires a builder to meet environmentally-friendly criteria established by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) program. The 79 EarthCraft principles for sustainable construction used at NewPast exceed the required threshold and include addressing the locally sensitive issue of stormwater management; using permeable pavement in the parking area to allow absorption as opposed to runoff; geothermal heating and cooling; using sustainable harvest lumber; locating close to a downtown business district and mass transit; providing air sealing and water conservation measures, solar shade screens and other energy-efficient designs; as well as planning for the control of soil erosion and the preservation of existing trees.
"Many of these are quite technical and will not seize the average person's imagination," noted Guyon. "But in aggregate, what they amount to is a building that has materials in it that are going to last longer, which is just good citizenship to the planet. What also happens is that the condominium association, which assesses the owners down through the years for maintenance, can reduce those assessments because the materials last longer, and then the group doesn't have to keep replacing exterior materials or even some interior materials because they were better to begin with."
"The materials have been less disruptive to the environment to get them there," Guyon added. "Rather than sawn lumber, which requires the cutting of mature trees, you're given credit for the use of manufactured lumber."
Once the project is complete, the builder must allow inspection for EarthCraft certification.
Working with a development team of Bill Hardy, Susan Hardy and Joe Graviss, EPIC Construction and the infill-focused real estate services of Jimmy Lail, Guyon designed the enclave to present an historic street presence in the guise of a pair of pre-Civil War homes converted to condominiums. Along with a new "Gatehouse" designed in keeping with the 19th-century style of its neighbors, the two homes serve as a gateway to twin rows of contemporary lofts extending to the rear of the property, each with urban-style stoops facing a leafy pedestrian lane. "The two historic buildings offer a very unique situation," said Guyon, making note of an advantage of belonging to a condominium association. "You can live in a stand-alone historic house and have no exterior maintenance responsibilities."
Josh Marrillia, a 2003 UK civil engineering grad who formed EPIC Construction with developers Robin and Butch Schneider to focus on the urban infill market, said the NewPast project has given his young firm a chance to demonstrate an ability to think outside of the box. "We're willing to tackle new and different construction issues. And we're willing to do it in such a way that it's still cost effective for the owners," he said. "That's the approach contractors have to take when doing a downtown project. You can't take that same formula that people want to use in suburban Lexington and apply it downtown. It's a whole new set of rules, and there's a whole new set of challenges and issues that you have to be competent in and able to tackle."
Realtor Lail, whose company motto is "Live like you mean it," has developed an understanding of the potential market through sales of units in the 500s on Main, which he said is three-quarters sold. "The demographic (for NewPast) is young professional, empty-nesters and snowbirds. The price points ($389,000 - $419,000) are being well-received. People are willing to pay a price for a product like what Guyon is offering, which is the "green" design. There's a huge surge in our country. Everything is going green. People are more conscious of the impact that development has on our environment."
Lail has noticed a trend among those empty-nester baby-boomer clients. "Anyone I've sold a unit to — and I've sold a ton of them — they'll get done with the transaction and the husband and wife will hug each other and say, 'Alright honey, let's go to Florida and find our other place!' So it's not that they're trading one asset for another — selling this big house and buying this smaller condo. They're getting rid of the big house and taking one asset and turning it into two. So they can spend the nice months — spring and fall — here in Kentucky and then the other months down in Florida."
Recognizing a related second market, Lail has obtained the permission of the Kentucky Real Estate Commission to promote and sell condominiums in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean to those who might want to bypass the Sunshine State as they head south.
The people demographers identify as those who don't want to live in conventional suburbs, said Guyon, tend to be people who, when they buy some consumer item, believe that it should have a longer life and that it should be a matter of investment rather than a no deposit-no return throw-away. "We have found that group to be more culturally aware in general," he observed, "which means they're more aware of design, art and music, but they're also more inclined to buy technology and other items that are earth friendly or environmentally responsible."
With four units now ready for sale, Guyon projects completion of the NewPast project for May 2007.
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