It’s been an exciting summer season at Arlie & Company. With many projects starting, others wrapping up, and still more appearing on the horizon, we have a lot of news to share with you in this issue of the newsletter. In July, we broke ground on the Crescent Village Town Center buildings. Can’t see the progress from the street? Take a closer look…the hole in the ground on Shadow View Drive and Crescent Ave is the beginning of the underground parking garage for residents. Soon, it will become the foundation of the luxurious mixed-use buildings that will form the heart |
 Suzanne Arlie President |
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of Crescent Village. Read the article about the “Triple Bottom Line” to learn about sustainable development principles we’ve incorporated in the design and construction of Town Center. Also, check out the article about Arlie & Company Project Manager Mark Miksis’ work on the Mayor’s sustainability task force. We also recently completed the improvements to the West Lane Shopping Center in Veneta, including the addition of a beautiful new gathering space with an interactive water fountain and plantings for the community to enjoy. Stop by the newly remodeled center, enjoy the fountain, and order a delicious traditional Mexican lunch or dinner at Ixtapa Mexican Restaurant, our first new tenant. It’s worth the drive! Our most recent project involves no building at all. The Friends of Buford Park (FBP) recently contacted us and requested that we help them acquire 1,400 acres of Wildish-owned property at Mount Pisgah. Our goal is to work cooperatively with FBP and the Wildish family to ensure that the property is protected from development, restored to its natural beauty, and preserved as a wildlife habitat and public parkland. We’d like to hear from you. Click here to tell us about how you and your family have enjoyed Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah. Sincerely, |
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At Arlie & Company, being committed to sustainable growth means that we recognize the importance of pursuing a holistic approach to the planning, design, construction, and marketing of projects. For this reason, we embrace business strategies and project management practices that seek to meet the “triple bottom line.” The triple bottom line encourages business decisions that simultaneously achieve environmental, economic, and social well-being. We recognize that growth, as guided by this definition of sustainability, is not just healthier for the environment, but also more profitable and healthier for all members of a community. When we acquired a 39-acre site on Crescent Avenue in North Eugene as part of a complex land trade with PeaceHealth Medical Group, we knew the land had incredible potential. “Our deal with PeaceHealth created a win-win situation for the entire community,” says Suzanne Arlie, president of the company. “PeaceHealth gained a site perfectly suited to their plans for a state-of-the-art medical campus that will serve our community for many years to come. And we got the opportunity to expand our professional scope and introduce Eugene to a better kind of development.” “It’s rare to find such an ideal piece of developable land,” Suzanne says. “From the beginning, we wanted to create something special for the community.” “We wanted to make sure that the Crescent land was developed to its highest and best potential,” Suzanne continues. “And to us, that didn’t just mean making a profit; it meant responding to the needs of the people of Eugene, and doing so in an environmentally sensitive way.” The result was a plan for an urban village based on the traditional neighborhood model of dense, mixed-use development with pedestrian-friendly streets, numerous integrated amenities, defined open space, connections to mass transit, and a style that respects the vernacular character of the region. |
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The strategies Arlie & Company employed to meet high standards of environmental friendliness also make economic sense. An increasing number of business owners and consumers are recognizing that green buildings save them money and improve inhabitant health. Says Suzanne, “This awareness has given us a competitive edge in the marketplace. People are excited about retail space and homes that are healthier for their employees, customers, and families.” The economic benefits Crescent Village will create reach into the community, as well. Arlie & Company has made an effort to hire local and regional consultants, contractors, and suppliers throughout the development of the village. Suzanne thinks this is important. “Arlie & Company is itself a family-owned business. We couldn’t have been as successful as we are today if other local business and community members weren’t so supportive, and we want to give back in the same way,” Suzanne says. “We believe that creating a healthy local economy, one that is fair to all, is prerequisite to achieving sustainability.” |
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“Crescent Village won’t just reduce people’s dependence on the automobile or bring new jobs to the area,” she says. “Those things are important. But just as important is that Crescent Village will be the kind of place that fosters an enhanced sense of community; a place where people can meet, share experiences, and develop friendships.” By striving to meet the triple bottom line, Suzanne feels her company has achieved more than they would have if profit had been their only motivation. “An urban village is a larger initial investment, and as a new concept in Eugene, this type of development carries more risk,” she continues. “But when we started this project, we recognized that our own economic gain wasn’t the only profit to be made. We embraced the triple bottom line as our guide and held all of our decisions up to its challenge. I believe we’ve made conscientious decisions that will make Crescent Village meet the triple bottom line, and I’m proud that it will contribute to the creation of a healthier and more sustainable community.” [return to top] |
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Sustainable Taskforce Vision In early 2005, Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy launched a unique program aimed at making Eugene a “center of excellence” for triple bottom line business and job development. The Sustainable Business Initiative (SBI) began with the creation of a 16-member taskforce. Mayor Piercy charged the taskforce with making recommendations to the Eugene City Council about how to support and expand businesses and products that simultaneously achieve economic, social and environmental well-being. |
 Mark Miksis Project Manager |
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To answer this question, the taskforce began by researching sustainability and looking at what cities nationally and internationally were doing to support triple bottom line businesses. “We then reached out to the community,” says Mark. “The taskforce hosted roundtables with representatives from different sectors and different industries to get as much input as we could to formulate our recommendations. We estimate that over the course of the taskforce’s work, we talked to more than 700 people.” Arlie & Company wholly supported Mark’s involvement in the taskforce. “We are committed to sustainable business practices,” says Arlie & Company president Suzanne Arlie. “Projects like Crescent Village create local jobs, focus on green building and respond to the community’s needs for diverse housing options. We hope to be a model for other local businesses.” Mark hopes that the residents of Eugene embrace the work of the taskforce. “Some of the recommendations that we developed are visionary and others are more mainstream. We hope the community will share our vision of a sustainable Eugene.” The taskforce will present its recommendations to the City Council this fall. [return to top] |
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Ixtapa Mexican Restaurant is the first tenant of the new storefront space. Serving traditional Mexican cuisine for lunch and dinner, the restaurant is located near the new fountain at the west end of the shopping center. Luis Torris, Ixtapa’s manager says, “This is a great location for our seventh restaurant. Many locals have come to the restaurant already, and we’ve also had lots of visitors who stop in on the way to or from the coast.” He adds, “The new center is beautiful. You should come check it out!” |
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For information on leasing space at West Lane Shopping Center, contact Lynn Jolly at (541) 344-5500 or lynn@arlie.com. [return to top]
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Join us from 5 - 7 p.m. for great food and drink, local band, Inner Limits, a chance to network with community leaders and businesspeople and get an update on the progress at Crescent Village. For more information visit: www.eugenechamber.com |
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