Responsibility.  We planned, designed, built, and operate Villageworks with a sensitivity toward our environment. In addition to the local and global benefits of resource conservation, this approach contributes to healthier working environments, lower operating costs, and opportunities to integrate tenant business practices with customer and client environmental ideals.

Low-Impact Site Planning.  The Villageworks block was planned with non-irrigated landscaping, permeable sidewalks, and advanced stormwater and wastewater treatment systems that help protect adjacent wetlands and watersheds.  

Super Efficient Building Systems.  Heavy insulation, a tight building envelope, natural daylighting, and super-efficient lighting, plumbing, and HVAC systems minimize water, natural resource use, and fossil-fuel consumption while reducing operating costs for our tenants.

Renewable Energy.  Our rooftop solar arrays combine to generate approximately 150,000kwh of renewable energy every year to power Villageworks and the businesses that call our community home.  Click the links below to monitor our energy production in real-time:

Healthy Air.  VOCs and other harmful chemicals in specified materials are minimized to keep the indoor air clean.

Re-use and Recycle.  We look for ways to re-use or recycle materials rather than send them to the landfill. For example...

  • Instead of demolishing an uninhabitable existing structure located on our site, we deconstructed the building piece-by-piece and kept 87% of the materials out of the landfill (see pics). The original granite foundation became site benches, chestnut roof beams were preserved to make furniture, and old wall studs transformed into a set for a stage production at The Umbrella -- a community arts center in Concord, MA.

  • An old maple tree that once stood on our site was milled into slabs that now form the "community tables" at True West, our on-site, "Best of Boston" award winning farm-to-table restaurant and brewery.

  • We provide co-mingled recycling for all businesses in the Villageworks community.

Walk, Bike, and Ditch the Car.  Our community is part of a walkable village with easy pedestrian access to surrounding neighborhoods, schools, and other businesses.  We've added sidewalks, crosswalks, traffic-calming devices, and bicycle parking to the Villageworks block that tie into existing municipal infrastructure and encourage non-automotive transit.  The Cross-Acton Transit bus stops in West Acton Village and the South Acton MBTA Commuter Rail station is a short bike ride away.