Bulding Supplies Al Fresco in Lancaster

Everything at Fresco Green Building Supplies comes with a story: the display counters made from sunflower seeds, the insulation made from cast-off pairs of blue jeans and the hardwood flooring assembled without any hazardous materials.

The same can be said for the founders of the business, Rick Frescatore and Rick Scott. They first ventured into recycling as a job more than two decades ago. The job evolved into an inspiration. Last winter, the business partners opened Fresco in a nondescript storefront off a commercial pike in Lancaster.

Their mission encompasses far more than moving products off the shelves. Frescatore, Scott and their colleagues are helping homeowners, builders, architects and anyone else who will listen to conceive, design and build in a sustainable fashion. "In my own way, I am an artist, and I consider the world around us as the canvas," Frescatore says. "We can influence the end result one paint stroke at a time."

Even though the recession continues to stifle new construction, this year isn’t a bad time to launch the new venture, according to professionals active in the green building arena. Most commercial projects that are moving forward are incorporating green features, says Brian T. Falcon, founding chair of the Berks-Lancaster Green Building Association. And the demand for green should continue rising once the economy firms up, he adds.

For now, however, the chief value in Fresco is the way it brings together sustainable products and the people who know about them, says Falcon, a project architect with Exton-based ARCUS Design Group Inc. "I think it's phenomenal," he says. "I think it's a much-needed resource for design and construction professionals, as well as homeowners."

GREEN FROM FLOOR TO CEILING

At first glance, Fresco resembles any other store hawking paint, flooring and other building supplies. There are racks displaying varieties of hardwood, stacks of paint cans and sections of colorful floor tiles. Clues to the broader mission are reflected in features such as a small geothermal unit and a selection of rain barrels. In addition, Frescatore points out, all the materials used in Fresco are sustainable, from the recyclable carpet tiles at his feet to the reused ceiling tiles over his head. The front wall is covered in American Clay, a plaster wall coating that absorbs moisture and prevents mold.

Toward the back is an educational area where Fresco hosts seminars on green building and sustainable practices. A recent crowd included interior design students from the Art Institute of York, Frescatore says. They learned about indoor air quality as it relates to paints and finishings. The teaching mission extends to contractors, who can work with Fresco to find the right materials for green and LEED-certified projects and document their efforts.
 
Julia Knight has taken advantage of both the products and the people at Fresco. It was the products that first got her attention. Knight, executive director of the Harrisburg-based Green Center of Central Pennsylvania, had been looking for a local supplier of American Clay. Initial web searches turned up suppliers only in larger cities, like Philadelphia and New York. "All of a sudden, one day up pops Fresco," says Knight, who's planning to use American Clay in a bathroom of her Harrisburg home.

Frescatore, meanwhile, has presented a seminar at the Green Center, a nonprofit educational hub for sustainable building. Knight hopes he and his partners will give more. "It's very exciting to have them in the area," she says.

A BROADER VISION

The need for an outlet like Fresco emerged over time for Frescatore and Scott. The two men each have worked in the recycling industry for more than two decades, at both family-owned businesses and large public companies. "We've  been doing this for a long time, before it was cool," Frescatore says.

To take a more active role in helping companies recycle, Frescatore achieved LEED certification and launched Frescatore Consulting. Founded in 2005, the firm sets up programs for recycling and reusing buildings materials and assists carpenters, masons and other skilled tradesworkers in hewing to green standards. The firm is based in Frescatore’s home, a 120-year-old Victorian that he is restoring in the Susquehanna riverfront town of Columbia. Current consulting projects include work on the new Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital in Hershey.

While he may be working on individual buildings, Frescatore has a broader, longer-term vision that embraces the communities around them. The vision includes helping people in impoverished urban areas improve their surroundings and live more sustainably. "This is not a business to us," Frescatore says. "This is a movement."

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Joel Berg is a freelance writer, part-time writing teacher and recovering business reporter living in York.  Send feedback here.

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Photos:

President Richard Frescatore at the Fresco Green Building Supplies shop in Lancaster.

Fresco's stock includes soy paints.

American Clay products are available at Fresco.

Outside looking in at the Fresco store.

Frescatore mans a sales counter at Fresco.

All Photos by Brad Bower