NEWS RELEASE - May 12, 2008

The Lights Are Coming Back On

   On Monday, May 12th, the Doscher Building was sold to a development company out of Fort Worth. Green Uran Development has been working with S.E.E.D. for the past few months on the potential and opportunities for revitalizing this cornerstone building.
Jyl DeHaven, CEO of Green Urban Development, visited Sweetwater in February when an organization she co-founded, Green Collar Vets, was asked to come learn about wind energy and the jobs this booming industry has. Standing on the square and looking around at the buildings, Ms. DeHaven's question to executive director of S.E.E.D., Ken Becker, came forth.
   "So what does real estate sell for in this part of the state?"
   Mr. Becker had an offer she couldn't refuse.
   "It was love at first sight," Ms. DeHaven explained about her first tour of the Doscher Building.
   "This is what we do. We see past the old and worn out, and find the potential possibilites."
   Since then, it has been a focal point for both organizations. In March, Ms. DeHaven made a peresentation to the Boad of Directors of S.E.E.D. They liked what they saw and were excited about the possibility to save the Doscher Building. Their understanding of its value to the city and the need to make it a cornerstone for the revitalization that is already happening made this work.
   Green Urban Development specializes in urban infill revitalization. They, also, do only "green" projects, which are energy efficient and environmentally sensitive. The Doscher Building is a perfect match for their strengths.
   "The first building we ever did," Ms. DeHaven continues, "was a building in Fort Worth that was scheduled for demolition, to be raised and replaced with a car lot. We found an angel investor, totallyrestored the building, and it is now home to an Italian restaurant, law offices, and the neighborhood police station. It was also awarded the Historic Preservation award from the city of Fort Worth."
   "The plans for Doscher will be driven by the marketl. It seems likely candidate for mixed use with retail on the grounad, a couple of floors of office space and then the top floor as residential lofts. However, we don't have a crystal ball so we will be letting this market determine how we finish the interior spaces. What we do know is: It will be upscale. It will have some "green" finishes and historic touches, and the exterior will be taken back to more of its original look."
   "The first thing that we will do is give the building a serious power washing to see how the architectural detals have survived the years. After that, we will be in a better position to start to see the vision for the building."
   "We are excited. We want to be a good neighbor, and we hope that this will be the first of several projects that we do in Sweetwater."
     Contact and web site iinformation is as follows:
      www.greenurbandevelopment.net
      www.urbanracestreetfortworth.com
      www.greencollarvets.org
   The website for the Doscher Building is currently under construction, but will be at www.doscherbuilding.com. In the fall, Green Urban Development plans to do a reception at the building and unveil the drawings and concepts.
   "It is our great honor to be a part of this process," Ms. DeHaven stated. "We will give it our best shot. I think that you will be pleased with the results."