Last week, the Elizabeth River Project in Portsmouth honored businesses and organizations for their environmental stewardship in the region.
Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority was a top-level honoree for its work at Grandy Village, a $4.1 million project that involved an ecofriendly renovation to the community along the Elizabeth River.
The 44-acre community, next to the Chesterfield Heights neighborhood in Norfolk was built in 1953 and reopened as a mixed-income housing community last fall, with 341 units.
The development features a learning center built to comply with the LEED certification requirements set by the U.S. Green Building Council. NRHA partnered with Norfolk Public Schools and the STOP Organization to educate preschool children about riverfront ecology at the learning center.
"In 2001, we did a master plan for that community," said Russell Carlock, a senior architect for NRHA. "We met with the residents, people from the city, civic leagues, etc., and talked about how we could do this. We started saving up money and making a list of things to do."
Other organizations that have supported NRHA's educational and community activity initiatives at Grandy Village include the city of Norfolk's Planning Department, Bureau of Environmental Services and Department of Public Works, as well as the Army Corps of Engineers, The Elizabeth River Project and the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Virginia Housing Development Authority, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Virginia Department of Forestry were also among supporters.
The renovated community, completed in June 2010, has a number of environmentally sound features, including foam insulation in the walls. Trees along the shoreline were preserved, Carlock said.
NRHA was honored by the Elizabeth River Project on Jan. 27, at ERP's annual River Star Business Recognition Luncheon, which was held at the Renaissance
Portsmouth Hotel. ERP is a nonprofit whose mission is to restore the environmental integrity of the Elizabeth River.
At the luncheon, BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair was announced as ERP's first "River Star Hall of Fame" recipient, for its completion of eight wildlife habitat projects over the last 10 years. BAE projects included installation of rain gardens to absorb runoff and creation of oyster reefs and wetlands, as well as other ecofriendly initiatives.
Another high-level honoree recognized at the luncheon was Luck Stone Corp., a crushed stone production company headquartered in Richmond that has sites throughout Hampton Roads, other parts of Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. Luck Stone is family-owned and has been in operation for more than 80 years.
Mark Williams, the terminal manager of Luck Stone's Gilmerton distribution yard in Chesapeake and Berkley distribution yard in Norfolk, said the sites sell stone for products primarily used for road construction.
"We deal with the transportation side of things here," Williams said. "We deal with storm water discharges on the sites and we've done a lot of recycling improvements to the sites."
Luck Stone has been interacting with the Elizabeth River Project since 2008, Williams said.
The yards also sell products for sand and turf, and have done baseball fields in Chesapeake and golf courses in Richmond.
Many of their jobs include filtering waste products out of runoff water before it makes its way into the Elizabeth River, Williams said.
They've also planted 38 trees at the Berkley yard, and about 24 trees in the Gilmerton yard, with hopes of planting more.
Williams explained another way the Gilmerton yard in Chesapeake had been upgraded in an environmentally friendly way.
"We basically turned a storm water drain into a flower garden," he said.
The process included filling the drain with a Luck Stone product called BioFilter to filter out waste in the water before planting.
http://www.insidebiz.com/news/elizabeth-river-project-names-its-stars Posted: January 28, 2011 By Danielle Walker
The Gardens are in Bloom!
In an effort to become a Commitment Level River Star, a program sponsored by the Elizabeth River Project (ERP), Luck Stone’s Gilmerton Yard installed two bioretention/rain garden areas between the scale office and administrative building. The areas total approximately 1,800 square feet and will filter stormwater runoff from an adjoining parking lot and a portion of exit road from the facility. The rain gardens, designed by local landscape architect Kathleen Redfern, were planted with 131 native shrubs, flowers, and grasses and installed by associates and volunteers.
The first rain garden was planted in December 2009 and the second was planted in March 2010. Both are functioning beautifully! Gilmerton’s accomplishment would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the following individuals:
• Pam Boatwright, ERP • Jim Cahoon and Amy Conley, ERP volunteers • Anthony Cuffee, Steve Royal, Tony Williams, Smiley Odom, and Mark Williams, Gilmerton associates • Troy Durrer, Luck Stone IT • Jimmy Rodgers, Luck Specialty Products
Luck Specialty Products Helps to Renovate Durham Athletic Park
Over the past few months, Luck Specialty Products has supplied ball field construction materials to assist in the renovation of the historic Durham Athletic Park, affectionately known as “The DAP,” in Durham, NC. The DAP was the setting of the 1988 movie Bull Durham and was home to the Class A Carolina League Durham Bulls from 1926 to 1994.
Valley Crest Landscapes was the contractor of choice to turn this old gem into a newer, more player friendly version of one of America’s best known ball parks. In renovating the field, Valley Crest used two of Luck's premium sports field products. Luck Specialty Product's Warning Track-Red material was utilized for the warning track. Warning Track-Red is a stone dust aggregate with a sieve analysis, best suited for good permeability and traffic tolerance, and has better than normal freeze resistant traits.
Also used in this project was Luck’s Infield material that was blended with Ruckersville Red. This created an infield mix slightly higher in clay content than that which is normally produced, which is what the client requested.
Plans for the DAP’s renovation include Durham Parks and Recreation league baseball programming and usage of the facility as a special event venue.
