Ventura Apartment Complex Installs First EV Charging Station in County

March 23, 2011 - PRLog -- Ventura, CA – The Ralston Courtyards, has become one of the first residential communities in California to offer electric vehicle charging with the installation today of six commercial charging stations at its 108-unit luxury residential development in Ventura.
   Santa Barbara-based real estate firm The Towbes Group, which developed the newly opened Ralston Courtyards, installed the commercial charging stations to coincide with the release of the first mass produced electric vehicles (EV) on the market, the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf.  California is one of six states, including Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Texas and Tennessee to begin selling the electric vehicles.
   “The installation of the charging stations is in keeping with our commitment to extend our green philosophy beyond the corporate office to the commercial and residential units we own and manage throughout the Tri Counties,” said Courtney Seeple, vice president of project management for The Towbes Group, which was recently certified by Santa Barbara County as a green business.  “As one of our newest and most sustainable communities, Ralston Courtyard was the obvious choice to install the charging stations.  We are finding that our tenants are generally interested in becoming more environmentally responsible and less dependent on foreign oil. By installing these recharging stations we want to show that we too are environmentally conscious and that purchasing and using electric vehicles is a good idea.”
   “The charging station at The Ralston Courtyards is a wonderful amenity, but more importantly it serves as a constant reminder that EVs are a viable option,” said Per Bjorge, General Sales Manager of Paradise Chevrolet.  “We believe it will be a catalyst for other places in Ventura County such as golf courses and shopping centers to also install them.”  According to Bjorge, the response for the Chevy Volt has been tremendous.  Since December, Paradise has delivered 10 of the 14 Volts allocated to them for the model year.
   While most electric cars can be charged from domestic wall sockets, the commercial charging stations installed at the Ralston Courtyards is compatible with current Smart Grid technology and allows for faster charging at higher voltages & currents.   With the cost for electricity at approximately 12 cents per kilowatt hour, “fuel costs” for EVs  are about one fourth that of the traditional internal combustion engine.
   “And the savings will be even greater as gasoline prices continue to rise,” said Seeple.
   The new Chevrolet Volt will be on display at Ralston Courtyards this Thursday, March 24th between 4 and 6 pm.  Ralston Courtyards is located at 5525 Ralston Street, one block west of Victoria in Ventura.

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About The Towbes Group
The Towbes Group, Inc. http://www.towbes.com is a fully integrated real estate investment, development and property management company. Founded in 1960, the Santa Barbara, CA-based firm has developed more than two million square feet of commercial real estate and nearly 6,000 single family and multifamily units in the Tri-county area.