Ford's Fairlane Green Earns LEED Gold and Phoenix Award for Sustainable Redevelopment

Ford Land's Fairlane Green development is a 243-acre retail and recreational center built over a Ford-owned landfill in Allen Park, Michigan. This development delivers corporate, community and environmental benefits while featuring many innovative "firsts" that set it apart from traditional retail and brownfield developments.

Ford Land has completed the first two of four phases of the project, which will offer one million square feet of retail space and a 43-acre community park with trails, active recreation areas and natural habitat when complete.

Ford worked with the community of Allen Park and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to address the challenges of constructing what will be the largest retail development ever built on a former landfill. The site is being developed using innovative new technologies, including the use of lightweight fill material to support foundations and utilities without adding excess weight. The site also includes a passive methane collection system.

Each project phase will be certified through the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) program. The LEED green building rating system is the national standard in the United States for evaluating green buildings. It recognizes state-of-the-art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Fairlane Green Phase I has received LEED-Gold certification as a core and shell development, and subsequent project phases are seeking certification.

The LEED rating was earned through efficient use of energy, water and resources. For example, the retail centers are energy efficient and employ high-efficiency heating and cooling systems, added insulation and weather sealing, and efficient windows and doors. The use of white roofing materials further reduces heat generated from the sun's exposure.

To preserve indoor air quality, the stores were built using paints, adhesives and sealants that emit low levels of fumes, and the ventilation system was protected from dust during construction.

Recycling was a key construction consideration. Nearly a quarter of all the building materials used contain recycled-content, and two-thirds of the construction waste was recycled.

The development is also efficient in its use of water. Water-efficient fixtures reduce water use, and ponds and swales capture rainwater for landscape irrigation. In addition, Fairlane Green is landscaped with native plants and grasses that require significantly less water, fertilizer and maintenance.

The entire site has been planned to maximize green space, native plants and wildlife habitat. For example, large landscaped parking islands and hedgerows divide parking areas, green screens enable vegetation to grow up the sides of the buildings, large planter boxes and rock gardens surround store entrances, and ponds support wildlife. The site is already home to many small mammals and birds, including several red-tailed hawks and a rare snowy owl.

Only one-third of the 243-acre site will be developed, making it 60 percent less dense than typical retail centers, according to statistics from the International Council of Shopping Centers. The highly visible green landscape features provide unique wildlife habitat and green space in a largely urban area and help to remind visitors of the site's environmental mission.

The site is a prime example of responsible land use. Ford's productive reuse of the landfill provides amenities, jobs and taxes on a site that would otherwise have remained dormant in a high-density urban community. Fairlane Green was recently awarded the 2007 Phoenix Award for excellence in brownfield redevelopment – confirmation of Fairlane Green as a sustainable development providing social, economic and environmental benefits to the community.