image: Pictured are (left to right, standing) Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, dean of the UM School of Architecture; Patrick Burbank, assistant vice president of development for MAMCO; Noah Breakstone, CEO, BTI Developers; Valerie Katz and Michael Katz, president of MAMCO; Jorge Esteban, Chief Architect and Vice President of Accolade Companies; Jessica Biondi (left to right, seated) Andrea Heuson, professor in the UM School of Business Administration; Barbara Kahn, dean of the UM School of Business Administration and Bill Biondi, Executive Vice President, MAMCO view more
Credit: University of Miami
CORAL GABLES, FL (September 18, 2009)--Smathers Four Fillies Farm, a residential community of 30 single-family homes built for the University of Miami faculty and located in the Village of Pinecrest, south of the University of Miami campus has taken the top prize of a regional award that recognizes sustainable development, the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) Woolbright Dream Green Reality Award.
Awarded by the institute's Southeast Florida/Caribbean district, the honor recognizes projects that have a minimal environmental impact and improve the comfort and health of residents through strategies such as low-impact and regenerative site development, energy and water conservation, use of sustainable or renewable materials, and improved indoor air quality.
"It was a great honor just to have Four Fillies Farm considered for this prestigious award," says Patrick E. Burbank, assistant vice president of development for Miami Asset Management Company (MAMCO), the wholly owned UM affiliate that developed the community. "Winning the award is a culmination of the hard work and passion so many talented people put into this project and an acknowledgement that environmentally conscious development is an attainable reality."
Burbank, along with MAMCO's president, Michael Katz, accepted the award August 27 at the ULI Southeast Florida/Caribbean's 2009 Vision Awards Dinner, held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida.
Green building materials used in the construction of Four Fillies Farm have helped the homes exceed Florida Energy Efficiency Code standards by 20 to 30 percent. Among the homes' many eco-friendly features: walls coated with paint containing low levels of volatile organic compounds; Energy Star appliances that help slash utility bills; dual-flush toilets that reduce water usage; landscaping designed with native and drought-tolerant plant life, which reduces water demand; and healthy insulation and enhanced air filtration.
The new residential development is consistent with the University of Miami "Green U" initiative to become more sustainable through the procurement of environmentally responsible products and environmentally sound maintenance and operations procedures for existing and new buildings.
The neighborhood is situated on 11 acres in the center of the 32-acre Smathers Four Fillies Farm estate, which was donated to UM 16 years ago by philanthropist and longtime trustee Frank Smathers Jr., who used the land for a fruit farm and home for his Arabian horses.
The remaining 21 acres of the estate have been left intact and are being maintained and protected by Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
For more information on Smathers Four Fillies Farm, call 305-668-9422 or visit www.miami.edu/fourfilliesfarm
About the University of Miami
The University of Miami's mission is to educate and nurture students, to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and beyond. Committed to excellence and proud of the diversity of our University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world. www.miami.edu
About the GreenU
The University of Miami began its resolute dedication to the protection of the environment in 2005, when it launched GreenU, a program that puts in practice ideas that address concerns about the safety of the environment. As part of the ongoing commitment towards the creation of a sustainable campus, Donna E. Shalala, UM president, signed the Talloires Declaration of the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future and the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, during a historic ceremony in 2007 http://www7.miami.edu/ftp/umgreen/index.html