SSI - Pilot Projects Selected

The Sustainable Sites Initiative has selected over 150 Pilot Projects for testing out the new SSI rating system.  California has a total of  21 projects represented, with 6 in the Los Angeles Region.  The projects represent a broad cross-section of development types, and final results of the Pilot Project studies should conclude in June 2012.  Below are summaries of the 6 Los Angeles Area projects from the SSI website:

Annenberg Project at Lower Point Vicente
Rancho Palos Verdes, California
Project Type: Institutional/Educational
Project Team: Annenberg Foundation, Melendrez, KPFF Consulting Engineers, Swatt / Miers Architects, Ganahl Construction Corporation
Description: The vision for this education and family destination is to create an area that connects the community to the ocean and the land, providing education, interpretative facilities, and recreational opportunities, linking the site to the trails at the Vicente Bluffs Reserve and beyond. Careful consideration is being given to the potential impact of the improvements on the surrounding environment, especially to neighboring homes.

Bioswales and Landscaping at Glen Oaks/Sunland Boulevards
Los Angeles, California
Project Type: Transportation corridors/Streetscape
Project Team: Hollywood Beautification Team, City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works
Description: This streetscape project will install bioswales, remove asphalt from medians, and install trees and plantings at the intersection of Glen Oaks and Sunland Boulevards in the San Fernando Valley. Storm water flooding will be mitigated and water will be captured and added to the water table for later use. The project is also associated with an ongoing job training program. 


Headwaters Corner at Calabasas
Calabasas, California
Project Type: Institutional/Educational
Project Team: Mountains Restoration Trust
Description: Headwaters Corner is a 12-acre interpretive center in the critical urban/wildland interface of Los Angeles and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation area. The goal of the project is to demonstrate to people how to be a positive factor in the ecosystem. The site contains a perennial headwater stream to the Los Angeles River, and representative examples of 5 plant communities: riparian, wetland, oak woodland, coastal sage scrub and grassland. Two single family structures are adapted for education and administration purposes with the intent to use them in green demonstrations. 

Magnolia Power Plant
Burbank, California
Project Type: Industrial
Project Team: Burbank Water and Power; AHBE Landscape Architects
Description: The Magnolia Power Plant, operated by Burbank Water and Power is an exemplary model in sustainable design from its high-efficiency heat recovery steam generator down to the shared bikes throughout the plant's campus for employee transportation. Examples also include the plant's power generation which uses recycled water for steam, landscape areas use recycled water for irrigation which are managed by climate-based irrigation controllers and are planted with native, and/or drought tolerant species and a vegetated green roof. Currently in the design phase is a public green street demonstration project that is planned along the western edge of the campus as a means to communicate innovative stormwater management technologies to the city and adjacent community.  

Sunnylands
Rancho Mirage, California
Project Type: Residential
Project Team: Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, Ganahl Construction, The Cultural Landscape
Description: This project will improve the sustainability of the landscape at this 200-acre estate that hosts world leaders and dignitaries and is open to the public for tours. There will be a significant reduction in grassy areas, more native plants, an updated irrigation system, multiple steps for water conservation, and more. Adaptations and enhancements to the care and maintenance will demonstrate the protection of a landmark site, while bringing it closer to sustainability.

The Annenberg Center at Sunnylands
Rancho Mirage, California
Project Type: Institutional/Educational
Project Team: Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, Ganahl Construction, the Office of James Burnett
Description: A new garden is being constructed at The Annenberg Center at Sunnylands. The garden design is based on Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art with repetition and massing of desert plants suited to the natural climatic conditions of the site. A highly efficient, fine-tuned irrigation system will minimize water requirements, while greenwaste will be recycled and reused. The importance of sustainability is threaded throughout the larger Center and will continue through the garden.