When Mercer Reynolds built his lodge at “Linger Longer,” his family’s hunting and fishing retreat in Georgia’s Oconee River Valley, he designed a hydro-electric generator to power it. That was “green” 75 years ago.

Today, Georgia Power uses the valley—now home to 19,000-acre Lake Oconee—to generate electricity for the region, courtesy of the hydro-electric generators at Wallace Dam. The Reynolds family maintains a green presence here, too. Reynolds Plantation has helped define sustainable development, and the 10,000-acre lakefront community between Atlanta and Augusta has been recognized as a leader in the “green” movement.

“My grandfather knew this was an important piece of land at the convergence of two rivers, and he was a great steward of the land,” states Mercer Reynolds III, chairman of Linger Longer Companies (which includes Reynolds Plantation). “I would like to think that he is looking down on us today thinking that his family has continued that tradition.”

That tradition made Reynolds Plantation a logical choice for the first-ever LINKS GreenHouse, which will be built by Linger Longer Homes. Befittingly, Linger Longer Homes is well-versed in green building practices, as the homes constructed by Linger Longer have historically approached or exceeded national green building standards.

“For the LINKS GreenHouse, we’ll be building to EarthCraft green building standards,” says Linger Longer Homes’ vice president, Tom Allhoff. “EarthCraft has an important understanding of the region’s building resources and environmental needs.”

An additional benefit of the EarthCraft program is its ease of implementation. The program rewards consistency with environmental standards and the use of programs that can be broadly adopted—a key function of any program that seeks to have impact on the environment. 

“We recognized the importance of building to high environmental standards here early on,” says Allhoff. “We have created environmentally friendly luxury homes that are efficient to build, so the LINKS GreenHouse is less a one-of-a-kind structure than a key example of what we do.”

A big part of Linger Longer’s program is the role of partners. From the architect (Michael Hug, who also designed the ultra-luxury Creek Club Cottages at Reynolds Plantation) to the vendors and sub-contractors, consistency with the high environmental standards of Linger Longer Homes is crucial to gaining EarthCraft certification. 

In the LINKS GreenHouse, Georgia Power has a significant role. “We couldn’t ask for a more responsible partner,” says Rabun Neal, President of Reynolds Plantation. “Georgia Power’s environmentally conscious management of Lake Oconee has allowed our members, along with the area’s residents, to enjoy some of the finest fishing, swimming and boating in the Southeast.”

Appropriately, Earth Day 2009 (April 22) has been selected as the opening date for the first-ever LINKS GreenHouse. Watch for more updates in the coming months!