Blalock Lakes' Exclusive Homebuilder Pine Mountain Builders Recognized for its Top Quality, Environmentally Friendly Homes

Homebuilder Recognized for Achieving Sustainability Through Quality 


NEWNAN, Ga., March 19  /PRNewswire/ -- Blalock Lakes, 3,000 rolling, wooded acres located 50 miles from Atlanta, has been virtually unspoiled for generations and an Atlanta home builder wants to keep it that way.

Pine Mountain Builders, the exclusive builder for Blalock Lakes' 136 cottage homes, has recently been recognized with a 2008 EarthCraft House Builder of the Year Award. The recognition from the Atlanta Home Builders Association rewards homebuilders that build quality homes to environmentally friendly standards.

All of Pine Mountain Builders' homes subscribe to EarthCraft building standards and integrate a respect for the environment both inside and out. And it's not just the homes at Blalock Lakes that follow that standard. Every building in the Blalock Lakes development is being built to EarthCraft environmental standards, from the horse Stables and sportsman's Hunt Club, to the community guard house and post office.

Pine Mountain Builders' environmental standard is in keeping with the philosophy at Blalock Lakes, which has set aside half of the project's acreage as a natural preserve, said Dan Camp, senior vice president of development for Blalock Lakes.

"It is common-sense building with cutting-edge technology," Camp said. "Based on their work at our other projects, Callaway Gardens and Longleaf, we knew that Pine Mountain Builders was the only company that could meet our environmental and sustainability goals."

The guidelines of the widely-recognized EarthCraft House program are designed to not only respect the earth's resources but to significantly reduce energy use. The lakeside homes at Blalock Lakes will range in size from 1,800 square feet to 3,200 square feet - and larger for custom homes - and will feature a number of energy-saving improvements such as foam insulation, reinforced windows and energy efficient lighting and appliances.

"The green building movement is already underway in this country," said Mike Guinan, Principal of Pine Mountain Builders. "It is crucial that we use less energy and conserve our natural resources. Pine Mountain Builders has made it our mission to lead by example."

Tighter Standards - and Houses - Means Lower Energy Costs

There was once a stigma associated with a completely sealed house. It was assumed that the air inside would be stale or stagnant. But the EarthCraft philosophy turns this idea on its head, Guinan said.

Praised as the tightest houses ever made, Pine Mountain Builders' EarthCraft homes, including those at Blalock Lakes, pull in and purify air mechanically, with high-quality HVAC equipment.

Pine Mountain Builder's homes create what's called an Energy Envelope, and the key is a specialized foam insulation called Icynene, which is applied directly to the attic ceiling and all exterior walls. The insulation creates a sealed home interior and allows ductwork and heating and cooling equipment to operate in a cooler environment, which during the summer would bring attic temperatures closer to 85 degrees from a typical 125 degrees.

Pine Mountain Builders also uses durable exterior materials such as premium manufactured windows with 20-year glazing warranties, as well as quality doors and composite materials on the homes' exteriors.

"All of these details contribute to create high-quality, low-maintenance and long-lasting homes at Blalock Lakes," said Scott Brown, Principal of Pine Mountain Builders.

More importantly, these improvements result in energy bills that can average as low as $51 a month for a 3 bedroom, 2,000 square feet home.

"Homeowners know the cost and headaches of poor quality construction, things like rotten door frames, siding and window parts or fogged, broken window seals," Brown said. "Our customers want better quality, longer-lasting materials, as well as energy efficiency. As it turns out, better quality can be the Greenest way of doing things."

"Blalock Lakes homes will also feature another environmentally friendly amenity in Trex-brand decking, a deck building material that looks like natural wood but is actually a composite of 100 percent recycled materials. Blalock Lakes homeowners can have a top-quality deck that is easier to maintain, and is better for the environment because it uses recycled materials," Brown said.

For more information about the environmentally friendly Pine Mountain Builders EarthCraft homes at Blalock Lakes, visit the website at http://www.blalocklakes.com/ or contact Blalock Lakes at 770-683-7100.

About Blalock Lakes

Blalock Lakes is a gated community on 3,000 acres in Coweta County, just southwest of Newnan, which is being developed by Cousins Properties. In keeping with the green standards, half of the total Blalock Lakes property is set aside for recreational activities that carry a special respect for the environment including hunting, fishing and equestrian sports. For this reason, only 399 home sites will be offered ranging from one-half acre to 50 acres. For more information on Blalock Lakes, visit the website at http://www.blalocklakes.com/ or call [phone].

About Pine Mountain Builders

Pine Mountain Builders is a green building partnership between Fortress Construction and Cousins Real Estate Corporation. Pine Mountain Builders is a member of the Atlanta Home Builders Association and holds the prestigious Certified Professional Home Builder designation from the Atlanta Home Builders Association, as well as the EarthCraft certification from the Southface Energy Institute, which designates the company as a Green Builder. Fortress Construction is the managing member of Pine Mountain Builders, and has accomplished many residential and commercial construction projects. Information about the company and current projects can be found at http://www.blalocklakes.com/ and http://www.callawaygardensliving.com/.

About EarthCraft

Created in 1999, EarthCraft House is the environmentally friendly building program co-created by the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and Southface Energy Institute. Named Green Building Program of the Year in 2004 by the National Association of Home Builders, the EarthCraft House program recognizes that there are many ways to reduce pollution and conserve natural resources in construction, while at the same time allowing builders flexibility in choosing the measures that are most practical for the homes they build. For more on EarthCraft House visit http://www.earthcrafthouse.org/.

About Cousins Properties

Cousins Properties Incorporated, headquartered in Atlanta, has extensive experience in the real estate industry including the development, acquisition, financing, management and leasing of properties.  The property types that Cousins actively invests in include office, multi-family, retail, industrial and land development projects.  The Company's portfolio consists of interests in 7.7 million square feet of office space, 4.8 million square feet of retail space, 2.0 million square feet of industrial space, 737 for-sale units in three under-development multi-family projects, 24 residential communities under development, over 9,000 acres of strategically located land tracts, and significant land holdings for development of single-family residential communities.  The Company also provides leasing and management services to third-party investors; its client-services portfolio comprises 12 million square feet of office and retail space.  The Company is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust (REIT) that has been public since 1962 and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CUZ."  For more information on the Company, please visit its Web site at http://www.cousinsproperties.com/.

Certain matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws and are subject to uncertainties and risks, including, but not limited to, general and local economic conditions, local real estate conditions (including the overall condition of the residential market), the activity of others developing competitive projects, the risks associated with development projects (such as delay, cost overruns and leasing/sales risk of new properties), the cyclical nature of the real estate industry, the financial condition of existing tenants, interest rates, the Company's ability to obtain favorable financing or zoning, environmental matters, the effects of terrorism, the ability of the Company to close properties under contract and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007. The words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its plans, intentions and expectations reflected in any forward-looking statement are reasonable, the Company can give no assurance that these plans, intentions or expectations will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and speak as of the date of such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise. 

DATASOURCE: Blalock Lakes



CONTACT:  Jay Robinson for Blalock Lakes, [phone],





Web site:  http://www.blalocklakes.com/

http://www.cousinsproperties.com/

http://www.earthcrafthouse.org/

http://www.callawaygardensliving.com/ 

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