News Release | What's New - The Cliffs Communities

University to Convert “The Cliffs Cottage” to Sustainability Center After Public Phase is Over

GREENVILLE, S.C. (May 21, 2007)—Furman University’s nationally-recognized commitment to environmental sustainability got that much stronger Monday when it was announced that the campus will serve as the location for a 2008 Southern Living Showcase Home that will be a model of “green” design, renewable energy and operating efficiency.

The announcement was made by Furman, Southern Living magazine and The Cliffs Communities, the three major partners involved in the unique and innovative partnership to construct the home on campus.

At 3,000 square feet, “The Cliffs Cottage” at Furman will be built near the lake adjacent to university’s four eco-cottages and will be among the first residential homes in America to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. It will also be the first environmentally sustainable Southern Living Showcase Home.

The home is being designed by the Johnston Design Group and built by Triangle Construction Company, both of Greenville. Construction will begin next month and be completed by June of 2008.

The Showcase Home will be open for public tours for one year, and it is expected to draw as many as 30,000 visitors from across the country. At the end of the public phase, the home will revert to Furman and be retrofitted as the university’s Center for Sustainability, which will provide office and meeting space for a growing array of sustainability initiatives.

“We are delighted to join Southern Living and The Cliffs Communities in this exciting partnership,” said Furman president David E. Shi. “This project will bolster Furman’s leadership position among colleges and universities committed to sustainability and environmental awareness, and it will bring thousands of new visitors to the Upstate once The Cliffs Cottage is open to the public. And once the public phase of the project is over, Furman will have a beautiful new Center for Sustainability.”

The Southern Living Showcase Home will highlight energy efficiency, green design and the use of natural materials and products. The grounds will include a formal garden with native plants and a large, organic vegetable garden. The gardens will also feature an underground cistern and fountains that collect and use rainwater for irrigation. The parking areas and sidewalks around the home are designed and constructed to minimize storm water runoff.

A geothermal ground source heat pump and photovoltaic electrical system will reduce energy dependency. The home will also feature Energy Star-rated appliances, low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paints, sustainable flooring and other green products.

“Our underlying goal is not to merely build a distinctive ‘house,’ but create a learning lab where the public can tour and ask questions about how new energy-efficient systems can be adapted and implemented in their own homes,” Shi said.

The Showcase Home is designed to receive full certification from LEED, which recognizes achievements and promotes expertise in green building by emphasizing strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. In keeping with the university’s Strategic Plan, all major construction on campus since Herman N. Hipp Hall was completed in 2003 has followed the LEED standard.

Southern Living will feature the Showcase Home and gardens in several issues of its magazine, which reaches nearly 16 million readers each month and enjoys a circulation of about 2.8 million. Based in Birmingham, Ala., it is the 8th largest monthly consumer magazine in the U.S.

Furman has declared the 2006-07 school year to be “The Year of the Environment.” Throughout the school year, the university has sponsored a series of programs, lectures and events to emphasize environmental citizenship and develop greater environmental consciousness, both on campus and off.

For more information, contact Furman’s News and Media Relations office at 864-294-3107.

Quotes from Southern Living & The Cliffs Communities

“Teaming up with Furman and Southern Living to create The Cliffs Cottage at Furman is an exciting prospect for us at The Cliffs. The project gives all of us—including people in the community—the opportunity to stretch our minds as we explore ways to live more responsibly in the 21st century. Using ‘green’ designs up front not only eliminates maintenance problems down the road, but more importantly, preserves and protects the natural resources of the land. And we at The Cliffs believe that if you treat the land with respect and integrity, everyone wins—especially future generations.”
-- Jim Anthony, President and Founder of The Cliffs Communities

“We wanted to partner with Furman on this project because you hear so much about ‘green’ projects in the media and ‘green’ options for your home. We wanted to live it firsthand – not just report on it for our readers.”
-- Derick Belden, Executive Editor of Southern Living

Additional Project Partners

Johnston Design Group
Innocenti and Webel
Triangle Construction
Caviness Lambert Engineering
BLE – Bunnell-Lammons Engineering, Inc.
PEA – Professional Engineering Associates
Postcard from Paris
McMillan Smith & Partners
The Carolina Foothills Garden Club
Park Seed

About Furman University
Furman University is a private, liberal arts college of 2,600 students in Greenville, S.C. Widely recognized for its excellent academic program and strong faculty, Furman has a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and is one of four colleges that receive annual funding from The Duke Endowment. It is listed among the nation’s top 50 liberal arts colleges in the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings.

About Southern Living
Southern Living, a premier lifestyle and entertaining magazine of the South and the 8th largest monthly consumer magazine in the U.S. (based on readership), reaches nearly 16 million readers each month and enjoys a circulation of about 2.8 million. Published 13 times a year, Southern Living celebrates the heart of Southern life.

About The Cliffs Communities
Founded in 1991 by Jim Anthony, The Cliffs Communities is devoted to the sensible development of luxury residential communities and other properties, within the United States and around the world, in accordance with a philosophy of protecting the integrity of pristine environments while offering its residents and members the very best lifestyle.

The Cliffs’ domestic properties include seven premier, private master-planned residential communities located in the heart of the Carolina Preserve between Asheville, N.C., and Greenville, S.C., collectively bordered by over a million acres of national forests and state parks in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Called “the most comprehensive and impressive club membership in the World” by Resort Living magazine, and recently ranked as a Top 10 US Golf Community by Travel + Leisure Golf, belonging at The Cliffs includes immediate access to a suite of over $150 million in completed amenities, including five championship golf courses (soon to be seven), world-class wellness centers run by health and fitness experts, and privileged access to The Cliffs' international properties in British Columbia and Patagonia, Chile.

The Cliffs offers homesites from $300,000 to over $3,000,000 and custom homes from $600,000 to over $6,000,000. To discover panoramic living at The Cliffs, call 866-435-5127 or visit www.cliffscommunities.com.

Contacts for Media:
Vince Moore, Director of News & Media Relations, Furman University, 864-294-3107
Helen Todd, Public Relations Manager, Southern Living, 205-445-5076
Jamie Prince, Director of Corporate Communications, Cliffs Communities, 864-239-3526