Governor Awards Mesa Lane Partners Environmental Leadership Award
Net-Zero Energy Student Housing Project Breaks Ground at UC Santa Barbara with $12.5 Million Public/Private Financing
GEELA is California’s highest and most prestigious environmental honor. The award program recognizes individuals, organizations and businesses that have demonstrated exceptional leadership for voluntary achievements in conserving California’s resources, protecting and enhancing the environment, and building public-private partnerships.
“Mesa Lane Partners is a true leader,” said Secretary for Environmental Protection, Matt Rodriquez. “They prove that you can support and promote environmental values without sacrificing your business objectives. They understand that going green can be a successful economic strategy that can also lead to sustainable growth and development.”
The LOOP will introduce 48 residential units, 140 student beds and 8,000 square feet of commercial space to a prominent corner of downtown Isla Vista, the student residential community adjacent to the University of California, Santa Barbara. This five-story building will revitalize a formerly contaminated automobile service station site. The 44,994 square foot development introduces unique amenities including a green roof, sky deck and automated robotic puzzle parking lifts alongside energy efficient features such as Passivhaus certified passive heating and cooling systems, operable windows and skylights emphasizing daylight and natural ventilation, a photovoltaic panel array, and drought resistant landscaping. The LOOP will achieve LEED Platinum certification – the highest standard recognized by the US Green Building Council – and is projected to exceed ASHRAE 90.1-2007 energy standards by at least 50%; using 50% less water than a similar building its size. Designed by DeVincente & Mills Architecture of Santa Barbara and Mayer Architects of Los Angeles, the project broke ground in Summer 2011 and will be completed August 2012.
Award recipients are selected in 12 different categories based on their strength in eight specific areas including results, transferability, environmental impact, resource conservation, economic progress, innovation and uniqueness, pollution prevention, and environmental justice. Mesa Lane Partners is one of 16 recipients that accepted awards at the East End Auditorium in Sacramento along with Albertsons, Anheuser-Busch, and Bayer Health Care Pharmaceuticals.
The Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Awards program was established in 1993. The award program is administered by the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Natural Resources Agency in collaboration with the State and Consumer Services Agency; the Department of Food and Agriculture; Labor and Workforce Development Agency; the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency; and the Health and Human Services Agency.
Visit www.theloopiv.com for more information about The LOOP. For more information on GEELA and this year’s award recipients, visit the Cal/EPA website.
