Wood Partners Receives 2010 Energy Star® for Homes -
Leadership in Housing Award
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency awards the multifamily developer
in
recognition of its North 38 student housing project in Harrisonburg, Va. |
ATLANTA, Ga. - June 2, 2010 - Wood Partners, L.L.C., one of the nation’s largest
multifamily developers, is proud to announce that the U. S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) recently honored its firm with the national ENERGY STAR® For Homes
- Leadership in Housing Award in recognition of qualifying an outstanding number of
energy efficient homes in the past year.
“We set out last year to make a big push nationwide with energy efficient and
environmentally friendly building methods and materials,” said Chief Executive Officer
Ryan L. Dearborn. “Being green is important to Wood Partners, to our apartment renters
and to our investment partners. This is a great first success that sets the stage for a long
line of energy efficient projects by our company.”
The nationally recognized ENERGY STAR certification was given for work performed
last year by WP East Development Enterprises, LLC, a unit of Wood Partners that built
the 228-unit North 38 student housing project in Harrisonburg, Va.
To qualify for the award, a builder must reach the threshold of at least 50 ENERGY
STAR qualified homes in the calendar year. Wood Partners produced more than four
times that minimum in a single project. North 38, considered large for the award
category, helped Wood stand out among the competition. The property built last year
consists of 19 buildings with 12 apartments each, and serves about 800 students from
local colleges in Harrisonburg, including nearby James Madison University.
The project met the ENERGY STAR requirements set for better efficiency with heating
and air conditioning, thermostats, ductwork, windows, water heaters and lighting and
appliances, among other things.
Construction of the site, led by project manager Phil Vetter, also stayed true to
environmentally friendly methods by recycling wood, brick/block, concrete, drywall and
shingles at the site. The goal was to recycle at least three quarters of at least three of each
material. Use of recyclable and recycled materials for building, such as MDF and fingerjointed
studs that utilize scrap materials, was also a key. Scores of other environmentally
friendly methods, including energy-efficient faucets and showerheads, were also used.
Planners at Wood Partners thought out every detail in advance - all the way down to
labeling storm drains to discourage people from dumping pollutants - to make the project
as green as possible.
Wood paid the extra costs involved to make North 38 achieve ENERGY STAR status,
where lenders would not.
The leadership at Wood Partners issued a new energy policy in March 2009 that said
going forward all of its new projects would be designed and constructed to achieve the
ENERGY STAR standard whenever possible. The company’s push into green building
came from evidence of demand from home renters who made it overwhelmingly clear in
survey results that they wanted efficient living choices. Beyond that, it has been a strong
interest for Wood, as well as its investors, to move to the forefront of green building.
“This was just getting our feet wet with green building,” said Dearborn. “The process
and details involved all came together seamlessly for a great project.”
Wood Partners has two other energy efficient projects in the works with Alta at Indian
Woods Apartments in Stoughton, Mass., 154 units, and the Alta at Regency Crest project
in Ellicott City, Md., 150 units. Not all residential projects are eligible for ENERGY
STAR housing awards, which has restrictions on height, HVAC systems and other
features. In such cases, Wood Partners will strive to meet the energy efficiency standards
of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).
As CEO of Wood Partners, Ryan Dearborn is responsible for the firms overall operations and performance. He was promoted to that position after having served as president of Wood’s west division, with oversight of the multifamily development operations of Wood Partners in Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Washington. Since joining Wood Partners, Mr. Dearborn has been a principal in the financing and development of over $2 billion of multifamily communities totaling over 15,000 units in the Southeastern and Southwestern United States.
Mr. Dearborn came to Wood Partners, in 1998, as a Director in development after having served as a Development Partner in Trammell Crow Residential's (TCR) South Division. During his tenure with TCR, he was involved with the financing, development, construction, and/or asset management of over 2,500 multifamily and hotel units in Atlanta.
Prior to graduate school, Mr. Dearborn worked for four years in operations at Avalon Properties, Inc. (formerly TCR-Mid Atlantic). He also worked in the Real Estate Advisory Group of Alex Brown Kleinwort Benson.
Mr. Dearborn holds an MBA degree from the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School, where he received a Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) fellowship, a Master of Science degree in Real Estate from Johns Hopkins University, and a BA degree from the University of Maryland. He currently serves on the ULI Multifamily Council and on the University of Maryland Board of Trustees.
Joseph Keough joined Wood Partners in 2008 as Chief Financial Officer, and now holds the additional title of COO. Before joining Wood Partners, Mr. Keough acted as the Chief Operating Officer of Fuqua Capital where he was responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fuqua’s family office operations, as well as defining and implementing the firm’s investment strategy across asset classes.
Mr. Keough has also served as the CFO of Weeks-Robinson, an operating company of Fuqua Capital. Weeks-Robinson focuses on industrial and office development and acquisition in high-growth Sunbelt markets.
Prior to joining Fuqua Capital, Mr. Keough served as the Senior Vice President, Development and Investment Strategy, in the office/multifamily division at Cousins Properties, a publicly-traded REIT.
Mr. Keough is a Certified Management Accountant and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. He received his BS degree in Finance and Economics from Babson College.
Wood Partners is a national multifamily real estate company that acquires, develops, constructs and property manages high density and mixed-use communities. Through quality construction, responsible land development and intelligent design, its communities reflect the aesthetic and social fabric of the community and provide a luxurious living experience at a fair price. The company has been involved in the development of more than 36,000 homes with a combined value of more than $4.5 billion. It currently has offices and projects in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
To learn more about Wood Partners, please visit www.woodpartners.com.
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Ryan Dearborn
CEO |
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Joe Keough
CFO, COO |
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