Environmentally-Conscious Hotel Comes to Anderson
January 14, 2008
By David Benda
WEATHER BREAK: With the rains that have blanketed the area recently, workers from Custom Creations take advantage of a sunny day to do site work at the Gaia Hotel in Anderson.
Touch the kiosk screen and find out the amount of water being saved or how much electricity is being conserved. There’s even a gauge that measures the carbon monoxide being emitted.
Yes, Gaia developer Wen Chang is passionate about the environment. And the 63-year-old Taiwanese immigrant isn’t bashful about spreading the word.
Each room at the Gaia will have a copy of Al Gore’s book “An Inconvenient Truth,” the companion to his 2006 Oscar-winning documentary.
“I have to try my best … to be a responsible businessman,” said Chang, who moved to the United States from his native Taiwan in 1970. “I have to shift the mindset from a separatist mentality to a oneness with nature.
“I put my hotel development operation in to deliver a message.”
The Gaia in Anderson is scheduled to open in March. It’s the second environmentally sustainable hotel that Chang’s development firm, Atman Hospitality Group Inc. of Woodside, has built.
In Greek mythology, Gaia was a goddess personifying the earth.
“They think the earth itself is a being and it’s alive,” Chang said.
Chang’s first eco-friendly resort, the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa in American Canyon, opened last March. He will break ground this year for a green hotel in Merced that is expected to open in 2009.
Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa has been certified gold by the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. Chang’s confident his hotel in Anderson will achieve at least the same status.
Lumber used to build the Gaia in Anderson was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, a global network that promotes responsible management of forests. The paints and sealers were made from low-volatile organic compounds, the carpets contain recycled materials, and recycled tiles and granite were used in the restrooms.
To discourage waste, newspapers will not be delivered to guest rooms. Instead, papers will be available in the lobby. There also will be recycling bins in each room and around the property.
The landscaping surrounding Chang’s hotel in Anderson will be chemical-free.
Solar and wind power will energize the hotel. Solatube skylights have been placed throughout the hotel. Chang said the skylights will help him save energy by magnifying the sun’s rays.
A swan lake, the signature feature at Chang’s hotel in American Canyon, also will grace his Anderson property. The lake will use filtered recycled water.
Gaia Hotel & Restaurant in Anderson will feature 122 rooms. All rooms will have 27-inch, flat-screen TVs. There also will be 7,000 square feet of conference room space. Chang said he doesn’t know what rates will be.
So why Anderson for his green development?
Chang has friends in Redding who told him about the property off Riverside Drive on the east side of Interstate 5.
“The land wasn’t ideal, however, in my life I listen to my heart. I saw the beautiful Sacramento River,” said Chang, who’s spent about $17 million to build his green hotel in Anderson.
Chang started developing hotels in the 1980s. One of his first properties was the Comfort Inn in Williams.
He cringes today talking about the chain hotels he used to develop.
“All those looked alike,” Chang said. “Conformity can be translated into boredom.”
Reporter David Benda can be reached at 225-8219 or at dbenda@redding.com.
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