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Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels Open the 147 room Proximity Hotel
in Greensboro, North Carolina; Built to Use 40% Less Energy and 30%
Less Water than a Comparable Hotel

Proximity Hotel provides comfortable luxury
as it goes for LEED Platinum Certification.
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GREENSBORO, N.C., Nov. 14, 2007 - Built to use 40% less energy and 30% less water than a comparable hotel, the just opened Proximity Hotel offers a glimpse of the future while celebrating the past. Sustainable practices, custom-designed furnishings, commissioned art and innovative design await guests in every corner of the 147-room luxury hotel and its adjacent restaurant.
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Dennis Quaintance, Chief Design Officer of Proximity Hotel and President of Quaintance-Weaver
Restaurants & Hotels, with the 100 solar panels atop the hotel
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Proximity Hotel's sustainable design and construction follows the guidelines of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System(TM), the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. With the goal to attain Platinum Certification (the first hotel in the United States to achieve the highest LEED certification), Proximity features ultra efficient materials, the latest in building technology, North America's first installation of the Otis Gen2 elevator (generating electricity as it descends), restoration of 700 linear feet of a stream and 100 solar rooftop panels that heat enough hot water to supply 100 homes.
    
While many of the 70+ energy and health enhancements will not be outwardly visible to guests, visitors are sure to notice the oversized windows providing abundant natural light and great amounts of fresh air.
   
Guests will also enjoy flavorful food, custom-designed furniture and original artwork in each room. Upon entering the hotel, visitors encounter interesting architecture and decor including a "floating" front desk made of a striking 12-foot steel cantilever sculpture; a 28-foot long mohair sofa; an interior balcony overlooking the Social Lobby; and 22-foot high windows overlooking the Bluebell Garden.
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Proximity Hotel

Proximity Hotel Lobby
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Sustainable "Green" Practices

Proximity Hotel is a "green hotel" Proximity Hotel is following guidelines of t he Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System,� the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings� performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in six key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in design. To earn LEED certification, a building project must meet certain prerequisites and performance benchmarks ("credits") within each category. Projects are awarded Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification depending on the number of credits they achieve. This comprehensive approach is the reason LEED-certified buildings have reduced operating costs, healthier and more productive occupants, and conserve our natural resources. Proximity Hotel�s goal is to attain the Platinum Certification (the first hotel in the United States to achieve this).

Here is a sampling of the 70+ sustainable practices at Proximity Hotel:

  • Uses 36.5% less energy than a conventional hotel by using ultra efficient materials and the latest construction technology.
  • Utilizes the sun�s energy to heat hot water with 100 solar panels covering the 4,000 square feet of rooftop (enough hot water for a hundred homes). This heats around 60% of the water for both the hotel and restaurant.
  • Restored 700 linear feet of stream by reducing erosion, planting local, adaptable plant species and rebuilding the buffers and banks. Approximately 700 cubic yards of soil was removed to create a floodplain bench. And 376 tons of boulders and 18 logs were used to maintain grade control, dissipate energy and assist in the creation and maintenance of riffles and pools. 
  • Installed North America�s first Otis Gen2 elevator that generates electricity as the cab descends by using a regenerative drive. It uses a patented thin flat-belt drive system rather than the conventional steel ropes that had been the industry standard for more than a century. The belts weigh 20% less than the conventional ropes, reducing the size of the machine required to power the elevator by 70%.
  • Takes advantage of abundant natural lighting with large energy-efficient �operable� windows (7�4� square windows in guest rooms).
  • Connects guests to the outdoors by achieving a direct line of sight to the outdoor environment for more than 90% of all regularly occupied spaces.
  • Uses building materials with recycled content. For example, reinforced steel contains 90% post consumer recycled content , sheetrock 100%, asphalt 25% and staircase steel 50%. Concrete contains 4% fly ash, the mineral residue left after the combustion of coal that is diverted from landfills.
  • Recycled 75% of construction waste, diverting it from landfills.
  • Reduces water usage by 30% by installing high-efficiency Kohler plumbing fixtures.
  • Improves air quality by circulating large amounts of outside air into guestrooms (60 cubic feet per minute) and doing so in an energy efficient way by employing �energy recovery� technology where the outside air is tempered by the air being exhausted from the hotel.
  • Uses regional vendors and artists for materials to reduce transportation and packaging.
  • Utilizes low-emitting volatile organic compound (VOC ) paints, adhesives, carpets, etc to reduce indoor air contamination.
  • Uses guest-room shelving made of walnut SkyBlend, particleboard made from 100% post-industrial recycled wood pulp with no added formaldehyde.
  • Offers bicycles for guests to ride on the nearby five-mile greenway.
  • Uses tabletops in the Bistro made of salvaged, solid walnut trees that came down through sickness or storm and room service trays made of Plyboo (bamboo plywood).
  • Installed newly-engineered variable speed hoods in the restaurant that use a series of sensors to set the power according to the kitchen's needs and adjusts to a lower level of operation (typically 25% of their full capacity). The sensors also detect heat, smoke or other effluents and increase the fan speed to keep the air fresh.
  • Uses geothermal energy for the restaurant�s refrigeration equipment, instead of a standard water-cooled system, saving significant amounts of water.
  • Will plant a green, vegetated rooftop on the restaurant to reduce the �urban heat island effect.� In other words, the green roof reflects the heat, thus reducing the amount of energy needed for refrigeration and/or air conditioning. It also slows the rain runoff and insulates the rooftop, keeping the building cooler overall. (To be completed in 2008)
  • Becomes an �Education Center� for sustainable practices with tours of our "green" hotel for guests and outreach programs for students of all ages.
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The hotel features 7,000 square feet of private event space, a spacious fitness studio, outdoor swimming pool, and a "guest living room" on each floor. Proximity's oversized guest rooms and suites have multiple 50 square-foot windows, custom furnishings, high definition television, Magi beds and signature bathrooms.
    
Proximity's restaurant, Print Works Bistro, uses fresh, local food in creating both traditional and modern versions of classic European bistro dishes. With three walls of windows overlooking the gardens in the dining room, no seat is far from any one of the 52 seven-foot tall operable windows. In addition to an extensive wine list, Print Works offers a smoke-free bar and plenty of outdoor terrace dining by the restored stream. Sustainable practices in the bistro include sensor-controlled ventilation for the kitchen, geothermal energy for the restaurant's refrigeration equipment and tabletops made of reclaimed walnut.

Built and operated by Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels, Proximity is just a stone's throw away from its sister businesses, Lucky 32 Kitchen and Wine Bar, Green Valley Grill and the Four Diamond O.Henry Hotel. Like the O.Henry, Proximity will be in and of her community, evidenced by local architectural influences and using local artisans to provide elements of the décor. The hotel and restaurant are named after the Proximity Manufacturing Cotton Mill (built in 1896) and Proximity Print Works Mill (1912), which are central to Greensboro's rich textile history. 

Proximity Hotel is the newest project by Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels, owners of the AAA Four Diamond O.Henry Hotel. Located in Greensboro, North Carolina, Proximity is poised to become the one of the most environmentally progressive hotels in the United States and to obtain the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification, while promoting green practices and awareness on a far-reaching scale. These eco-savvy practices will blend with modern luxury and vibrant dining to provide the utmost guest experience for business and leisure travelers. Reservations can be made by contacting 336-379-8200.

Based in Greensboro, North Carolina. Quaintance-Weaver opened its first restaurant (Lucky 32 in Greensboro, North Carolina) in 1989. Since then the company has expanded to two Lucky 32 restaurants (Greensboro and Cary), the Green Valley Grill and the O.Henry Hotel in Greensboro. Proximity Hotel and Print Works Bistro opened in 2007.

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Contact:

Proximity Hotel
704 Green Valley Road
Greensboro, NC 27408
Phone 336-379-8200
http://www.proximityhotel.com

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Also See: More Hotels See Value of Investing in the Environment; A Host of Green Strategies May Also Win Market Share / October 2007
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