CRYSTAL BEACH, TEXAS—In September 2008, Hurricane Ike leveled thousands of homes along the Texas coast. It was the third costliest Atlantic hurricane of all time. The four-room Out By the Sea Bed and Breakfast in Crystal Beach, owned by Carole Hamadey, survived the onslaught but still sustained significant damage. The next time a powerful hurricane comes knocking on Hamadey’s door, it will have a more difficult time “renovating.” Hamadey is about to add three additional guestrooms to her B&B using three steel shipping containers. That’s right, the large shipping containers one sees on ships crossing the ocean. Construction using the...

SPRINGFIELD, MO.—Hilton Garden Inn announced the opening of the 125-room Hilton Garden Inn Springfield, Mo., representing an addition to the brand’s growing portfolio of more than 500 hotels worldwide. The Hilton Garden Inn Springfield is managed by O’Reilly Hospitality Management, LLC of Springfield, Mo., and is the first hotel in Missouri to be designed to meet LEED Gold standards, while being just the second Hilton Garden Inn in the country to meet these standards. Some of the sustainability features include a geothermal HVAC system in the pavilion and meeting areas, a salt water swimming pool, solar electrical system, full...

NEW YORK—EcoLuxury Group (ELG) has been launched to provide full service consulting, design and construction services to residential and commercial clients interested in green, high quality renovation and new construction. The EcoLuxury Group focuses on enhancing occupant health, comfort and productivity while maximizing energy efficiency and minimizing environmental impacts. This collaborative group of architectural design, engineering, environmental health, technology and construction firms provides comprehensive knowledge and hands-on expertise in the rapidly growing field of high performance building.  Available services include architectural design; interior design; mechanical engineering; healthy design and consultation; energy auditing; LEED, NAHB and Energy Star design and consultation;...

DALLAS—NYLO Hotels LLC announced it has successfully completed a management team restructuring, as well as a financial restructuring of all debt within its portfolio to position it for growth opportunities ahead. The debt restructuring on all NYLO’s properties was completed in December 2010 and provides several years of additional term and other favorable modifications. Michael Mueller, a 20-year veteran of the hospitality industry and the original founder and visionary for the innovative NYLO lifestyle brand, said, “The debt restructuring puts NYLO on very strong financial ground and resolves all financial issues in our portfolio allowing us to focus solely...

MCLEAN, VA.—Home2 Suites by Hilton officially commemorated the opening of the brand’s first hotel today with a ribbon cutting ceremony and an announcement of a charitable community relations initiative. The first Home2 Suites, located in Fayetteville, N.C., welcomed representatives from the local community as well as executives from Hilton Worldwide, including President and CEO Chris Nassetta, to celebrate the opening of the first property for the newly developed extended-stay concept. Nassetta joined executives from the Home2 Suites brand management team, developer LBA Properties, owner Apple REIT and local dignitaries for the ribbon cutting ceremony and reception. As a signature element...

NEW YORK CITY—Sina Pearson Textiles, New York City-based designer/manufacturer of contemporary upholstery fabrics, announces its introduction for Spring 2011: an environmentally-friendly series for both indoors and outdoors. With the Global Village Collection, Sina Pearson simultaneously pays tribute, and updates, elemental motifs common to many cultures. The simple stripe, the abstracted floral, the coiled basket weave, belong to a shared visual language, and have been found in artisanal textiles for thousands of years. Yet the singular approach to scale, rhythm, proportion and graphic color contrasts makes this group decidedly modern. Global Village is woven of 100 percent solution-dyed Bella-Dura olefin fibers,...

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—With the prices of cotton continuing to rise dramatically around the world, Valley Forge Fabrics announced that it would lock in pricing for its Tencel+Plus through the end of the year. There have been several factors that have influenced the cotton price surge including flooding in Pakistan and China, stockpiling from cotton yarn suppliers in China, and the emerging middle class economies in Asia, India and South America. Valley Forge has been able to secure long-term fiber contracts with Lenzing Fibers of Austria; the sole producer of Tencel+Plus Lyocell fiber from Eucalyptus. These long term contracts ensure more...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) recently launched the CMP Wizard, an interactive online tool to help LEED Professionals understand their Credential Maintenance Program (CMP) requirements and explore continuing education options. The maintenance requirements for the LEED AP and LEED Green Associate credentials ensure that credential holders stay current with the quickly evolving body of knowledge around green building. Credential maintenance also enables professionals to grow their skills and show clients and employers that their expertise is meaningful in a rapidly transforming marketplace. The CMP Wizard helps LEED credential holders select from among the wide variety of options they...

NORTH WALPOLE, N.H.—Len-Tex Corp. announced the introduction of its exclusive Clean Vinyl Technology (CVT), a breakthrough development for the commercial wallcovering industry. Len-Tex has partnered with O’Sullivan Films to create a customized, non-ortho-phthalate vinyl film. This technology eliminates the elements of most concern to health and indoor air quality typically found in traditional vinyl wallcovering products. Len-Tex CVT contains no phthalate plasticizers, no barium or other heavy metals, no antimony-based fire retardants and no formaldehyde. In addition, the CVT technology incorporates the Ultra-Fresh antimicrobial agent, replacing an arsenic-based biocide often found in commercial vinyl wallcovering. “We’re proud to take a...

SYRACUSE, N.Y.—The 58-room Hotel Skyler, set to have its soft opening here in Syracuse on April 1, could soon join the exclusive club of hotels that have earned LEED Platinum certification. There are just two other U.S. properties that have earned such a distinction—the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C., and the Bardessono in Yountville, Calif. Hotel Skyler, which is pursuing the top-level LEED designation, is truly unique; it was first a synagogue constructed in 1921 and later a home for a theater group. According to Tom Fernandez, director of marketing for the Syracuse-based Woodbine Group, which owns Hotel Skyler,...