Woodstock Development Honored by EPA, HBGAC
January, 2006 — Woodstock, Ill. — The Sanctuary of Bull Valley in Woodstock, Ill., recently received awards from both U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago (HBAGC) for its remarkable achievements in land planning and conservation.
The Sanctuary is uniquely beautiful, 200-acre residential development in northwestern Illinois with an extraordinary commitment to protecting natural areas and reducing impact on the environment. Two land-planning awards in as many months testify to its success.
2005 Conservation and Native Landscaping Award
The 2005 Conservation and Native Landscaping Award was presented by the Great Lakes Region EPA and the Chicago Wilderness consortium to Sanctuary developers Jack Porter and Knickerbocker Properties, at a ceremony held at the Morton Arboretum on December 6, 2005.
The Sanctuary is among the first development projects to receive this award, now in its fifth year. The award program was developed in 2000 to recognize local government and park district efforts to use native plants in landscaping and conservation development practices within the Chicago Wilderness region. It was expanded in 2002 to include corporate efforts, and again in 2005 to include developers that plan and construct residential and commercial projects in ways that protect watersheds and the environment.
“The EPA is pleased to recognize The Sanctuary of Bull Valley for its outstanding conservation-development efforts,” said Bob Newport of the U.S. EPA. “Conservation-style developments like The Sanctuary can better manage storm water, recharge groundwater, and provide habitat for animals and plants.”
Chicago Wilderness is a regional nature preserve that covers more than 220,000 acres along southern Lake Michigan from southeastern Wisconsin into northwestern Iowa.
2005 Key Award
The HBAGC recognized The Sanctuary with a Silver Key Award for exceptional single-family land planning at its 33rd annual Key Awards celebration on October 14, 2005, at the Chicago Renaissance Hotel in downtown Chicago.
The Key Awards is considered to be one of the most prestigious awards in the United States in the home building industry. The Sanctuary was chosen from among approximately 400 entries by a panel of 130 judges from home-building, architecture and marketing companies. In addition to land planning, other awards included landscape architecture, custom homes, and architectural design.
“It’s truly an honor for The Sanctuary to be recognized by such diverse groups as the EPA and the HBAGC,” Porter said. “It proves that a development can protect natural resources while building a successful real estate community.”
Porter and his team worked closely with local, state, and federal agencies and environmental groups to develop an innovative environmental plan to achieve its conservation goals. These include protecting groundwater filtration and quality of runoff, preserving mature trees and open vistas, and restoring the area’s native prairie, savanna, woodland, and wetland vegetation.
The Sanctuary of Bull Valley (www.sanctuaryofbv.com), located in Woodstock, Ill., is being developed by Jack Porter & Associates and Knickerbocker Properties, a subsidiary of Wells Manufacturing. Currently, 105 homesites spread over 200 acres are under development. Lots start in the mid $100s and more than 70 percent are sold.