Highlighting Sustainability and Social Responsibility in Northern Virginia.
My office is located in the Ballston area just off of 9th and Randolph at the Liberty Center Building. We are actually in the old Liberty Center condominium sales office, which is why our office is so comfy and cozy and gorgeous. My broker was thinking sustainably when he decided that was where our office was going to be and it was smart. He wanted a place where our real estate brokerage 
could grow, but it wasn’t too big that it didn’t make sense for us. He was thinking in a socially responsible way when he also chose to off-set our energy usage with Clean-currents, meaning that our office energy buys into renewable energy certificates to offset our carbon footprint. Our office is walkable with a walkscore well into the high 90’s. We are surrounded by the Ballston and Virginia Square Metro and tons of places to dine and shop. When I meet my clients at the office, I am able to take them out to many of the restaurants in the area, but I typically will choose from those who have decided to operate in the same socially responsible and environmentally friendly way that I have chosen to do business for my real estate clients.
I was ecstatic when the grouping of sister restaurants arrived a year ago that all utilize the Arcadia farm program: SweetGreen, Rustico and Buzz Bakery all located just on the other side of the Liberty Center from where our Arbour Realty office is. If you laser vision through our office to the Wilson side of the building, you’ll hit Buzz Bakery, Rustico and SweetGreen Ballston- all amazing locally sourcing, socially responsible restaurants who strive to achieve high quality in both their product and their customer service, which makes me super-happy, because that is what I aim to do in my business, too! When I found out from the general manager, Gretchen, over at Buzz Bakery and Andy over at Rustico that they participated with Arcadia Farm, the “non-profit organization established in 2010 to create a more equitable and sustainable local food system…” to deliver a farm to table food experience to the diners at Rustico and Buzz and even, SweetGreen, I was happy, proud and excited all in the same moment. Part of Arcadia’s mission is “to improve the health of our community, the viability of local famers and the environment of future generation by addressing issues of:
- food access and food justice
- raising awareness about healthy food and its sources
- establishing innovative connections between local, sustainable farms and consumers.
Arcadia Farm is located on the historic grounds of Woodlawn Estate in Alexandria, Virginia, thanks to a landmark partnership with the Nations Trust for historic preservation. Arcadia works to deliver heritage and heirloom crops to increase biodiversity.” This farm program is awesome and it is incredible that these local restaurants are taking part to cease the moment and share with the community these wonderful fresh-seasonal-local foods which are healthy and sustainable. When are you going out to enjoy some of these moments? I want to know about your farm-to-table experiences! Join the discussion on my facebook page tweet me @YourEcoBroker . I’d love to hear from you.
