This is the third in a series of articles from One Boca, One Future spotlighting the City of Boca Raton’s most valuable yet under-realized growth area: The Northwest Sector, the space on the map between I-95 and Military Trail, Clint Moore Road and Spanish River Blvd.
Someone looking for a model of leading edge sustainability – in theory and practice – need only take a look at existing businesses and future plans for Boca Raton’s Northwest Sector.
It’s there that Broken Sound Club has instituted a host of innovative, conservation-minded infrastructure and facilities improvements as part of a $27 million makeover. Its composting efforts steer tons of garbage from area landfills and incinerators, and save the club tens of thousands of dollars annually.
The annual Allianz Championship, which is paperless, uses solar voltaic cells, is carbon neutral and employs garbage offsets, was the first PGA tournament certified by the Golf Environmental Organization as a sustainable golf tournament. Its efforts also were highlighted in National Geographic magazine.
Broken Sound’s leadership has helped create a sustainability committee with business and civic leaders city wide. In April 2011, the club received a Proclamation from the City of Boca Raton in recognition of the club’s GEO-Certified award. The proclamation stated: “By combining environmental enhancement with corporate responsibility in greening its operations, Broken Sound Club has demonstrated its commitment to sustainability.”
Leaders recognize that in the Northwest Sector and throughout the city, green efforts reduce waste and improve use of existing resources. Mayor Susan Whelchel even called Broken Sound, “the gold standard for being environmentally friendly.”
“Sustainability has led to a domino effect in Boca Raton,” said John Crean, CEO of Broken Sound Club, whose 3,300 residents – 4,500 in season from December through March – realized the need for sustainable practices at the club. Now, the club is seeking LEED certification.
Sustainable development throughout Boca Raton – including the Northwest Sector – can help preserve vital environmental and economic resources. From facilities like Broken Sound, to major employer Office Depot and its LEED-certified campus, to developers’ plans for upscale housing intended to shorten or eliminate commutes, reduce congestion and create a live / work / play community where people can walk or ride bikes to offices nearby, a holistic approach to green living can enhance quality of life and economic sustainability.
This happens several ways. Developers and cities design neighborhoods ideal for walking and biking. Planned Mobility, a development practice where homes are located closer to employment and retail, reduces the number and duration of car-trips. Amenity-rich garden rental housing located close to work decreases both the wear and tear on area roads, as well as the release of exhaust into the air breathed by area residents. In turn, illness and expenditures on healthcare are reduced.
Lessened dependency on cars and commuting increases the design and development of clusters of harmonious, pedestrian friendly facilities proximate to one another. As communities become more pedestrian focused, local public transportation options grow – leading people to connect and interact more, notes the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute.
This enhances economic sustainability. Those new residents, who once drove in from as far away as north Palm Beach County or Broward County, spend more disposable dollars in the local community. Lunch-hungry workers walk – not drive – to a local eatery. They interact. They build relations.
In fact, these “New Millennials” – those born in the late 1970s and ’80s – prefer the carless lifestyle. Some 88% of those surveyed want to live in an urban, walkable environment, according to one study. Some 40% have driver licenses – or interest in owning a car. They’re the future workforce for Boca Raton’s increasingly high-tech and healthcare-focused business base. The community must be prepared to meet their needs.
In time, these former commuters will become “locals.” They will settle here, raise their families in Boca Raton, spread roots – and further bolster the local tax base.
“There’s money to be made in sustainability,” said Crean, who endorses the movement to advance sustainable development in the area. “Broken Sound, Boca Raton and business leaders in the Northwest Sector are helping drive positive, sustainable change within the City of Boca Raton.”