Managing Stormwater as a Resource
By Mark Peternell
February 3, 2014

Our opinions about the technical and financial viability of green infrastructure changed as a result of the success of our Market at Colonnade shopping center in Raleigh, North Carolina. This project’s commitment to stormwater management has opened doors for both of our firms and started transforming how we think about the return on investment (ROI) in green infrastructure.

Regency Centers—the developer and owner of the Market at Colonnade project—prioritizes sustainability in building and maintaining its national portfolio of shopping centers. However, before this project was developed, the high upfront costs of green infrastructure were usually a hindrance to designing a stormwater management system that went beyond the local regulatory requirements. But, the Market at Colonnade project has demonstrated that a stormwater management system with the lowest upfront costs may not always be the best approach for maximizing long-term value, especially in the case of higher-value properties.

The “Innovative Stormwater Management Plan” (ISMP) implemented at the Market at Colonnade was Regency Centers’ solution to maximizing the 6.25 acres (2.5 ha) of land for the 57,000-square-foot (5,300 sq m) development—an area not large enough to house the shopping center, ample parking, and a …Read More