PONCE CITY MARKET CELEBRATES EARTH DAY THIS APRIL WITH HAPPENINGS AROUND PROPERTY

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 4/12/23

Events include Atlanta Green Market, Georgia Forestry Foundation Party, and Debut of the Torus Arch – a Mass Timber Architectural Installation

In the spirit of Earth Day, Ponce City Market is hosting a series of green initiatives and events with an environmentally conscious focus on Saturday, April 22.

“While Jamestown focuses on sustainability, social responsibility, and environmental initiatives year-round, Ponce City Market celebrates Earth Month each year by showcasing all of the sustainable practices used throughout its historic buildings, highlighting businesses that are doing their part to minimize their environmental impact and bringing people together through events like Atlanta Green Market,” says Becca Timms, Director of ESG, Sustainability, and Social Responsibility at Jamestown. “These events are a great way to tell our story, and we’re excited to bring together partners like the Georgia Forestry Foundation and other local non-profits that are working hard to make Georgia more sustainable.”

The Earth Day lineup includes:

• Atlanta Green Market’s 2023 Earth Day Celebration (Sat., April 22, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.) – Atlanta Green Market’s second annual Earth Day celebration will feature roughly 50 of Georgia’s most promising, up-and-coming sustainable businesses. The list of local companies that are working diligently to advance market-based solutions to environmental problems includes Eutree, Shades of Green Permaculture, and Squeaky Green Cleaning Company. Attendees are invited to discover, shop, and support the “buy green” movement.

Atlanta Green Market is a subsidiary of The Environmental Solutions Store (TESS) based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 2021, TESS aspires to become a trusted consumer marketplace for non-polluting/low-polluting alternatives to polluting goods and services. Atlanta Green Market is a volunteer-led event sponsored by ClimeCo and inspired by the writings of TESS co-founder and long-time ecology and business writer, John Thompson. He’s also the author of The Environmental Entrepreneur: Where to find the profit in saving the Earth (1992). John’s 30-plus years of research, ponderings, and writings inform the science-based labeling methodology used to define what “green-business” really means.

• Georgia Forestry Foundation Earth Day Celebration (Sat., April 22, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.) – The Georgia Forestry Foundation (GFF) will host a party with some of Atlanta’s beloved nonprofits and educational and advocacy groups for a fun and interactive day showcasing the importance of forestry to Georgia. Join GFF, Georgia Forestry Commission, Chattahoochee Nature Center, Georgia Audubon, Georgia Public Broadcasting, The Southface Institute, Trust for Public Land, Fernbank Museum, Longleaf Alliance, and Georgia Conservancy for virtual reality experiences, giveaways, live animal encounters, and of course, Smokey Bear. GFF will be handing out 500 t-shirts sponsored by Georgia Power. Located in The Trestle at Ponce City Market, it will be fun for the whole family. Please visit georgiaearthday.org for more information.

• Debut of Georgia Forestry Foundation’s Torus Arch (Sat., April 22) – On view at Ponce City Market’s courtyard starting April 22, GFF’s Torus Arch is a mass timber pop-up sculpture designed and fabricated by Atlanta-based Formations Studio. The piece is made out of five-ply Southern yellow pine cross laminated timber (CLT) manufactured by SmartLam in Dothan, Alabama. The Torus Arch was made possible by support from the U.S. Forest Service Wood Innovations program, Jamestown, Georgia-Pacific, StructureCraft, and SmartLam. The architectural installation will introduce visitors to all things mass timber, providing information about the sustainability benefits of mass timber, alongside information about the upcoming 619 Ponce mass timber office building set to debut as part of Ponce City Market’s next phase. 

The property recently began construction on 619 Ponce, which will be built utilizing cross laminated timber (CLT), with a portion of the timber sourced from trees grown on Jamestown’s timberland in Georgia, and a regional supply chain that reduces the project’s transportation emissions. Designed with a focus on sustainability and wellness, 619 Ponce is targeting net neutral operational carbon, LEED Core & Shell certification, and Fitwel certification. 

Designed with sustainability in mind, Ponce City Market is committed to employing green practices throughout the property and has been awarded numerous accolades such as LEED Gold Certification (LEED Gold Core & Shell, LEED for Homes, LEED Gold CI – Jamestown Office), the Urban Land Institute’s Global Award for Excellence, BOMA International TOBY Award, PEDS’ Golden Shoe Award, and ULI Atlanta’s Project of the Year, among others. The building showcases Jamestown’s vision to take a 100-year-old building and make it green. 

With a focus on building community connections, Ponce City Market incorporates a pedestrian network, public green spaces, and access to the Atlanta BeltLine corridor—all within the revitalized historic property. Ponce City Market encourages the use of alternative transportation methods through 500+ bike parking spaces, direct access to Atlanta’s Beltline trail, and a complimentary shuttle to and from MARTA for tenants and employees. Ponce City Market also offers on-site Zipcars and designated pickup and drop-off locations for rideshare vehicles.

In 2020, Jamestown made a formal commitment to achieve net zero operational carbon emissions portfolio-wide by 2050 and adopted all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. As a partner in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Better Climate Challenge, Jamestown is committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 50 percent within 10 years and sharing best practices to help other organizations transition to a clean energy future. 

Additionally, Jamestown has committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), pledging to reduce its Scope 1 (property-generated) and Scope 2 (landlord-generated) greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030, from a 2018 base-year, and to measure and reduce its Scope 3 (third party-generated) emissions.

Ponce City Market is currently under construction on its next phase, which includes 619 Ponce, a mass timber building made of locally sourced timber, a flexible-stay hospitality living building featuring 405 furnished units with short-term and long-term stay options, and Signal House, a multi-family rental building. The project will add density to the existing site via a regional, cross laminated timber-centered design that is also all-electric, highly efficient, and committed to LEED and Fitwel certifications. Jamestown is using its unique business structure partnerships in the timber and real estate industries to tackle an industry-wide challenge in a way that is replicable and will likely have impacts well beyond this single project.