Oberlin College
IN-4: Innovation 4

The concept behind the Green Arts District is to expand green building practices from a single, one-off building to instead be a whole city block. Green Arts District is planned to be a 13-acre development at the U.S. Green Building Council Platinum level and will serve as a driver for community economic revitalization. The district will include restoration of the Allen Memorial Art Museum (completed), Hall Auditorium, and a new hotel and restaurant (completed), business complex, and, possibly, a culinary school, jazz club, conference space (completed), and center for innovation and ecological design. The major goals in the redevelopment of the district are to create local employment, income growth, and community development as well as to construct a streetscape that will serve as an exciting gateway to the downtown and to the college. In the process, we will set a new benchmark for community-scale green development. The Gateway building to the project is the Hotel at Oberlin, a hotel and conference center on the forefront of modern green building. Featuring geothermal wells, radiant heating and cooling option to improve air quality, and sustainable landscaping with no pesticides. It is one of five hotels in the country to receive LEED Platinum certification. The ground-breaking for the Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center building was June 2014 and the new hotel was open May 2016.

In addition to the building itself being an innovation in sustainability, the programming associated with the hotel will also push the boundaries of progress. In October 2016 the Hotel at Oberlin hosted After Fossil Fuels: the Next Economy. A remarkable gathering of many of the world’s leading thinkers, political figures, economists, investors, philanthropists, business leaders, educators, and public intellectuals. The goals of this unique conference are bold: to transcend ideological and political differences, to highlight effective strategies, and to mobilize support for building the next economy. This incredible conference discussed what changes are urgently needed to spur a successful transition to a sustainable, resilient, prosperous, and equitable economy driven by safe, renewable energy. After Fossil Fuels: The Next Economy was the first major event to be held in the Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center. More high-impact conferences are in the works for this transformational space. More can be found at: https://new.oberlin.edu/events-activities/after-fossil-fuels/