The Small Florida Town with the Big Green Street

Anna Maria Island, Fla., has only about 1,300 year-round residents. It’s located on the Gulf Coast, approximately 60 miles south of Tampa. Now, local residents are calling Pine Avenue “the Greenest Main Street in America,” after Coleman, Chiles and a couple named Mike and Lizzie Thrasher purchased and built properties with a very strong green component. So what makes Pine Avenue so green? First, Pine Avenue has gone to a crushed-shell sidewalk and eliminated “hardscapes,” or concrete sidewalks. “So you recharge your water supply, and the water soaks right back into the ground, instead of having to let the water run off." Another major factor in Pine Avenue’s greening is the type of material used in the construction of the buildings. The structural walls of buildings begin with the forms themselves, which consist of a web system tying together 2.5-inch Styrofoam panels. The ICFs form blocks, which are set, like Lego blocks, onto the foundation. Inside each form is a two-by-two-foot reinforced steel grid that covers the entire wall system. This web and grid system is then poured solid with 6 inches of concrete. The result is a fortress-like structure able to withstand the most extreme weather conditions. Moving along to the water supply, a regular hot water heater isn’t used; instead, Coleman said, a tankless “on demand” system was installed. It’s a water heater that only uses energy when the hot water tap is turned on. The Thrashers’ buildings have also been using solar panels to conserve energy, while all owners of buildings on the street have planted flowers and gardens to beautify the street even further, to complement Florida-essential landscaping that includes sandy parking areas and sidewalks.“Native plants are there because they require less of everything, including, of course, water.”