CLEVELAND, OHIO—Phase one of the Hope Lake Lodge in Cortland, N.Y., is scheduled to begin construction within the next 60 days. The year-round family resort will include the renowned Greek Peak Ski Resort, a new 106-room Lexington Resort and Villas, an indoor water park, restaurant, and a Cascades International Spa. The Lexington Resort and Villas is being designed to comply with U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards and will include geothermal heating and cooling elements. “This is a very exciting time for us,” says Sam Kryger, vice president of Peak Resorts Inc.,...

Congratulations to the City of Vancouver, Wash., Hilton Hotels Corp. and Fletcher Farr Ayotte (FFA) Architects for successfully obtaining Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the Hilton Vancouver Washington hotel. The 226-room property, owned by the City of Vancouver, was designed by FFA and is managed by Hilton Hotels Corp. Only a few other properties in the United States have reached LEED certification status. The Hilton Vancouver Washington earned a LEED-NC rating because it adhered to guidelines established for new construction. I recently spoke with Gerry Link, general manager of the hotel, and he was...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Milliken Hospitality as a Green Product Directory partner. Since 1990, Milliken has reduced its environmental footprint by more than 85 percent while setting new benchmarks in green manufacturing. All of the company’s manufacturing plants have recorded zero waste to landfill since 1999. Milliken Hospitality’s numerous product lines reflect the company’s environmental concern. All Milliken Hospitality modular carpet collections are PVC-free, chlorine free, 100 percent renewable, 100 percent recyclable, meet stringent green certifications and reduce packing waste. Bio-based TractionBack adhesive-free installation improves indoor air quality by...

VANCOUVER, WASH.—The Hilton Vancouver Washington—one of the country’s first green, environmentally sustainable hotels—has been certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system, the nationally accepted benchmark for green buildings. This coveted certification recognizes buildings’ superior performance in areas such as water savings, low-impact landscaping, reduced energy use and indoor air quality. The Hilton Vancouver Washington is the first LEED-certified Hilton in the world and one of only a handful of LEED-certified hotels in the United States. “We are obviously very proud to have a hotel in America’s Vancouver receive this prestigious certification,” says Mayor Royce Pollard. “It is...

SPARTANBURG, S.C.—Fortune magazine announced that Milliken & Co. has once again been ranked on the tenth annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, coming in at No. 93. Milliken also ranked No. 36 on the Best Medium-Sized Company list. The complete list and related stories appears in the January 22 issue of Fortune, available on newsstands January 15 and now at www.fortune.com. “Milliken’s incredibly talented workforce has demonstrated again that quality of work-life goes hand in hand with quality of product, environmental excellence, and social responsibility,” says Dr. Ashley Allen, Milliken’s president & CEO. “We will continue...

LAS VEGAS—MGM Mirage’s $7 billion City Center project, an 18-million-square-foot development that will encompass 76 acres of the Las Vegas Strip between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts, is moving closer to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification one big bucket of dirt at a time. Construction has been underway for nine months now and foundations have been poured for each of the project’s seven towers. Set to open in late 2009, the mixed-use project will include the following: a soaring 60-story, 4,000-room hotel tower, casino and convention center; a five-star, 400-room Mandarin Oriental; 400-room Harmon...

CARTERSVILLE, GA.—Shaw Contract Group recently introduced EcoWorx Performance Broadloom, the commercial carpet industry’s first fully sustainable, cradle to cradle carpet backing for broadloom carpet products. With broadloom carpet comprising approximately 70 percent of the entire commercial floor covering market, the introduction of EcoWorx Performance Broadloom will play a significant role in reducing the amount of carpet sent to landfills after its useful life, and marks another significant step in Shaw Industries’ ongoing, comprehensive commitment to providing cradle to cradle product and process solutions for its customers. Built on the success of EcoWorx—the carpet industry’s first fully sustainable,...

TUALATIN, ORE.—Hartmann & Forbes, fabricator of sustainable handcrafted window coverings, is pleased to announce its PapyrusWeave Collection has won Interior Design Magazine’s Roscoe Award as the top window covering product launched in 2006. The PapyrusWeave Collection is influenced by nearly 20 different cultures and features more than 70 woven jute and pulp fiber patterns, including eight natural woven wall coverings. “We are deeply honored to receive this award from the interior design community,” says Michael Jones, founder and CEO of Hartmann & Forbes. “Their recognition with the Roscoe Award reinforces our efforts to develop innovative products that allow...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—The historic 1926 Federal Reserve building in Birmingham, Ala., will soon be part of Vantage Hospitality’s Lexington Collection and the only four-star hotel in the downtown area. The Federal Reserve Renovation and Tower is located at 4th Avenue North and 18th Street North, across the street from the Hugo Black Federal Courthouse and the historic former Federal Courthouse. Phase one will involve restoring the 1926 Federal Reserve building and annex into an office and retail facility, including multiple dining establishments. Phase two will create a new office tower, the top floors of which will be home to...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system, has moved into new offices in Washington, D.C. The new offices and workstations are positioned to maximize day lighting, and all light fixtures were selected for their quality of light and high energy efficiency. Of the energy consumed, 100 percent is offset by renewable sources. The materials chosen are both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally responsible. For example, salvaged wood timbers create a screen forest wall for an elliptical conference room, and rapidly renewable bamboo, linoleum, and...