Forget silver bells; North Philly is starting the holiday season decked out in platinum. Yesterday, we were at the opening of the eco-friendly, transit-oriented Paseo Verde, the first LEED for Neighborhood Development project in the US to receive the USGBC's highest cert.

The $48M project, 18 months in the making and poised to revitalize its North Philadelphia neighborhood, was developed by local non-profit CDC Associacion Puertorriquenos en Marcha (APM) in a partnership with NY-based Jonathan Rose Cos. (Above, we snapped president/namesake Jonathan Rose in his Manhattan office.) The 206k SF project brings 120 mixed-income apartments and 30k SF of retail and office next to the busy Temple University regional rail stop (7,700 passengers daily, less if you don't count freshmen--and who does?). Green roofs, solar panels, and water gardens, as well as recycled materials, are key features of the new building.