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Sequatchie County: Building ‘carbon-negative’

By: Ben Benton
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Troy Wragg

DUNLAP, Tenn. — A 5,542-acre “green” development in Sequatchie County will be the first of its kind in the United States, according to officials with Philadelphia-based developer Mantria Communities LP.

Mantria Place will be Tennessee’s “largest master planned community” with 3,000 home sites, two championship golf courses, two lakes and marinas and 2,000 acres of greenspace on the Cumberland Plateau west of Dunlap, said Chairman and CEO Troy Wragg.

But it’s the environmental angle that really sets it apart, Mr. Wragg said.

A patented “carbon diversion power system” will burn waste from Mantria residents to produce electricity for all the homes, with enough extra to be able to sell power back through TVA’s Green Power Switch program, he said.

Mr. Wragg said Mantria uses biodiesel-fueled equipment along with environmentally friendly building products and designs to reduce emissions by 25 percent during construction.

When the community is established, residents will pay a carbon tax of $50 per ton of waste to the homeowners association, he said. The average household produces about 40 tons a year, tallying a $2,000 average annual payment for Mantria Place homeowners, he said.

“Carbon-neutral is simply not good enough given today’s environmental issues,” Mr. Wragg said. “A ‘carbon-negative’ community has never been achieved before.”

The development won’t be small.

“It’s approximately 75 percent the size of Manhattan,” he said. The company invested $17.5 million in the land purchase, officials said.

The Maclellan Foundation in Chattanooga conveyed 972 acres of property to Mantria and helped arrange owner financing for $5.3 million of the purchase, foundation officials said.

Concept drawings of Mantria Place show spaces for businesses, restaurants, equestrian facilities, community buildings, gardens, parks and an observatory for stargazing. Space also is designated for a wastewater treatment plant, a solar power conversion station and a “solar farm.”

Howard Hatcher, executive director of the Sequatchie County-Dunlap Chamber of Commerce, said he and local officials still are learning about the development, but they like the idea.

“It would be very positive for the county in many ways,” Mr. Hatcher said. “It would create a huge number of construction jobs and have a positive impact on our tax base.”

He said most people just wonder what’s planned. Mantria officials haven’t announced a timeline.

“I haven’t heard any negative reaction,” he said. “People are waiting for final plans on what they plan to do and when they plan to do it.”

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