ASHLAND — Driven by a lifelong vision of community and energy sustainability, Jim Batzer plans a 14,000-square-foot, eco-friendly building at the corner of Helman Street and Van Ness Avenue. It will use no lumber, incorporate passive and photovoltaic energy, include a rain catchment system and will even recharge tenants' electric vehicles.

Batzer will construct six residences above two business and retail buildings, so tenants can live where they work, he said. By cutting energy costs, he hopes to rent at 75 cents a square foot below the steep Ashland average for new construction, helping younger people to thrive there.

The $3.5 million complex, called The Helman, just finished a 16-month review by the city's historic and planning commissions, emerging with a medieval Italian village look that also sports modern peaks and arches.

It will be built of foam block and steel, with recycled wood for flooring, windows and doors. "There will be no need to cut any trees," Batzer said.

The two- and three-story complex will replace the Pyramid Juice building in the historic district. The juice manufacturer plans to relocate nearby. The old building will be torn down and 95 percent recycled, Batzer said.

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"Global warming was my inspiration to build in a new way," said Batzer, son of the late Rogue Valley builder Jack Batzer and one of five brothers in the construction business. "You look down the road 10 years and energy costs could double easily. It just makes sense to do what you can to make it as efficient as possible."

Adding residential space onto commercial space lowers the cost of the commercial space — and helps people live near and walk to shops, markets and restaurants, thus cutting energy costs and improving health and community contact, he says.

"I have a problem with growth. A lot of growth in Medford is a real mistake and is not sustainable. It requires cars, which are like putting people in an isolation booth, separate from each other," Batzer said.

For tenants, Batzer is shooting for an insurance agency, computer-oriented company, flower shop and others, with an eye to firms that create jobs. The atmosphere will be pedestrian friendly, with the florist facing a public walkway between the two main buildings, outfitted with a solar-powered fountain.

Writing in support of the project to city planners, Jim Teece, president of Project A, an Internet firm in Ashland, decried rising office space prices in town and said The Helman would help counter that trend by building on the business periphery and supporting the Chamber of Commerce values for economic sustainability: clean industry, high-paying jobs and pedestrian-friendly business.

Batzer earlier did construction in Alaska, where he went broke, he said. Locally, he did challenging environmental restoration projects (gas stations, buildings with asbestos) and conducted considerable research into alternative energies, especially electric cars.

He's currently converting his 1990 Volkswagen Cabriolet from gas to electric. He observed that electric vehicles run for 50 miles on a 50-cent charge, a rate so appealing that he's offering recharges free to tenants.

It's about thinking sustainably, he said. "Let's face it, gas is never going below $2.50 because the oil companies realize they control us, not we them. It's running out and we're all scared.

"But instead of hiding our heads in the sand and blaming someone, we have to work together and go back to the future.

That means getting away from a society that's profit-motivated and going back to a community that's growing, loving and sharing.

It also means going forward to find tools to be more productive and energy efficient."

Batzer wants to start a forum about "the long-term livability and sustainability of Ashland from an economic, design infrastructure and social points of view."

Construction on The Helman will start in April and take a year.

John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at jdarling@jeffnet.org.