Hoyer Joins Governor, Charles County & ACPT in Announcing New 'Green City' Development Project
ST. CHARLES, MD - Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) joined Governor Martin O'Malley, Charles County officials and the American Community Properties Trust (ACPT) to announce a planned 9,100-acre "green community" development project in St. Charles, MD. The largest of its kind, the project will entail the development of 4,000 acres and retrofitting of more than 12,000 existing homes and four million square feet of commercial space, and is anticipated to create up to 20,000 new jobs through a Green Jobs Opportunity Zone, including 1,000 in the next three years. Below are Rep. Hoyer's remarks as prepared for delivery.
"I'm happy to be here with you today, on a truly promising day for the future of Charles County and our state. This is the site of an ambitious vision for our future: A model green community, an attractive place to live and work, a place where energy is saved and water is conserved, where existing buildings are brought up to the state of the art, where new buildings become a laboratory for new energy technologies, and where the community benefits from green jobs.
"I want to thank all of the "Green City" partners for their dedication to sustainable development and to green jobs. At sites like this across our country, Americans are seeing that sustainability makes economic sense.
"And even though our country is facing some tough economic times, our commitment to innovation is going to ensure that we come out stronger, and a world leader in the technologies that will shape this century.
"That's why the federal government, as part of its recovery efforts, has made such a strong commitment to energy innovation. Partnerships with the federal government can help make this Green City a reality, from Recovery Act-sponsored field tests of new technologies that will be used here, to grants to retrofit existing buildings, to funding for renewable energy projects.
"Programs like that aren't just helping us create jobs and get through these tough times. They are building a more promising future, and I want to thank you for sharing that commitment."