Day 4: San Antonio

Build San Antonio Green: Lina Luque has been with Build San Antonio Green almost since its beginning 10 years ago.  She described the early years as very slow, but the organization held true to its mission and has seen a surge of activity in the last three years.  The organization focuses on education, awareness, and a certification process that allows builders the opportunity to show their green features without the high costs associated with the USGBC LEED program.  The group created a checklist to simplify the certification process and it is very performance based.  Many of the projects they work with are part of the affordable housing program, so low operational costs are a significant benefit to the residents.  Last year BSAG started working on multi-family projects with the San Antonio Housing Authority and helped them retrofit and certify their large portfolio.  Lina  expressed great appreciation for the San Antonio Housing Trust who has provided money for projects and now requires their projects to receive BSAG certification.  The organization has also set community education and awareness as a priority, attending community events and acting as matchmaker for members and contractors.  They also had displays of different green and sustainable building materials, embracing the teachable moments created by visitors.

Solar San Antonio: Solar San Antonio was founded in 1999 by William Sinkin, a forward thinker committed to the power of solar energy.  Solar San Antonio was also a driving force behind the formation of Keep San Antonio Green.  We met with Lanny, Bill's son and Nic Jones who shared with us the vision and work of the organization. As a non-profit, Solar San Antonio is interested in educating people on the benefits of solar and collecting the resources - both financial and material - to make implementing solar power a reality.  They have worked closely connecting people to available rebates and helping them see the long term value of the upfront costs of installation and purchase of equipment.  They are fairly active politically as well as attempting to insure the longevity and success of the increasing demand of solar power and believe that a turn to solar power is inevitable.  One of their recent success stories is the policy that will not allow an HOA to prevent homeowners from installing alternative energy equipment, such as solar panels, on their property.

Marty Wender, Developer:  Charles Martin Wender is probably best know for his development projects in the north west area of San Antonio, but as he sat down to visit with our group it was clear that clarity and a willingness to share his story are two of his greatest community contributions.  A self-admitted "deal junkie," Mr. Wender has devoted a large portion of his life studying economic generators and the direction of San Antonio's growth.  The pictures on the wall of his conference room speak volumes to the success of his vision, a vision that was not shared by his peers when he initially undertook the project.  Mr. Wender is also a salesman and when he believes in a project he uses that gift to help others buy into his vision.  He is also willing to invest money to make his visions happen, building his own roads to provide traffic flow to his projects.  He talked at length about seeing the bigger picture, understanding that SeaWorld was not only a good thing in and of itself, but it would draw attention and traffic to the area as well.  As he predicted, the Hyatt destination hotel came in to the area building momentum for the entire project.  Mr. Wender is also a listener, willing to "say yes until you give me a reason not to."  Early in his development, AT&T offered to put in $5 million of fiber optics if he would provide the easement.  Even though this was well before fiber optics were mainstream, he said yes and created the opportunity for data centers to choose his development over others where they would have to pay to install the technology they needed.  Mr. Wender also offered several nuggets of truth.  The first was based on Red Combs' saying "Always tell the customer what they want to hear."  Mr. Wender pointed out that this was not permission to lie, but rather to listen and provide the information that the buyer was looking for.  The next word of wisdom was that "You can prove no positive with a negative."  He told the story of he and his wife deciding where to have dinner and the need to not just say no, but offer alternatives as  means of problem solving.  Finally, he stressed the importance of hiring the "best people and listening to them" as a key to success.  Mr. Wender is very clearly a hard worker and this has contributed greatly to his success.  One of the greatest parts of his legacy, however, will not come from the physical developments he has built, but his willingness to share his experience and wisdom with others.

3+1 Development: Four distinctly unique homes with four distinctly different construction materials, the goal - to see how the differences impact efficiency. Each home is approximately 1,050 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. One home is built out of SIPs, structural insulated panels. Another home is constructed with aerated autoclaved concrete and the third of three is built from a shipping container. The final home is traditional stick construction.

The homes will be occupied by residents under the affordable housing program in conjunction with Build San Antonio Green.  The residents have agreed to allow their energy use to be monitored for 2 years as part of the program.

City of San Antonio, Economic Development:  David McGowen, City of San Antonio Economic Development Coordinator visited with us about the challenges of helping a large city mange its real estate and land holdings.  The current goal of the city is to try to find ways to keep young professionals in the central business district by creating live-work-play venues.  He talked about the importance of having the numbers work and the creative approach of land swaps to make redevelopment projects work.  It was interesting to hear the perspective of the city after listening to smaller organizations and private developers.

Lake Flato: Lake Flato is an architecture firm that has won national acclaim for its designs.  Their focus on making their projects fit their clients and location and their emphasis on sustainability have created a unique and successful niche.  Heather Holdridge talked to us about the groups approach to design, from building orientation to color scheme to make a project successful.  The group has worked on residential, commercial, and hospitality buildings and is currently involved in a number of education projects around the country.  Their designs are not only beautiful, but under the guidelines of USGBC LEED construction, they are user and earth friendly as well.

Pearl Development: The former Pearl brewery and bottling company has been transformed into a jewel for San Antonio residents, although tourists are welcome.  Located at the non-tourist end of the Riverwalk, the Pearl offers retail, restaurant, education and venues for lease.  The adaptive reuse nature of this project has provided both definition and character and appears to be doing well.

TAKE AWAY OF THE DAY:   Compatibility can be seen as it relates to mission or environment, but is at the core of a project meeting and exceeding expectations. When you create the opportunity to make suitability compatible to the average person's life by offering education and incentives or you develop a property that is compatible to the needs and expectations of its surroundings, you help insure a high level of success.