PLANTATION, Fla. -- From the grounds of Plantation's Fashion Mall, one of the country's first green communities will rise.

It will be called 321 North.

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"We're really trying to create a new town center for the city of Plantation," chief architect Jonathan Cardello of ADD Inc. said.

Virtually every aspect of the 33-acre development has an environmental focus. In the plans: 600 residential units, along with office and a revamped shopping mall, all within walking distance to help cut back on car use.

Eco-friendly materials will be used throughout the project. Cardello showed NBC 6's Patricia Andreu some examples, such as zinc siding, which will be used for the buildings' exterior.

"[It's] a material that will last 100 years so that you're not having to replace it or repaint it over that time," he said.

To keep the indoors cooler, they'll use green screens where plants can grow on some outside walls and rooftops.

"That will allow for air to be filtered but also for the buildings to be cooled by shading," Cardello said.

He also showed Andreu a piece of yellow glass.

"This is a tinted glass that will allow for the shading of some of the sunlight coming in," he said.

Indoor accents will include sustainable woods like bamboo and palm and products made of recycled material like the carpets and countertops.

"It's the use of recycled soda cans and aluminum products that's reconstituted into a countertop that has the durability of many of the synthetic products out there," Cardello said.

Cardello should know. His office has a countertop made from recycled cans and aluminum products.

321 North is part of a nationwide pilot program to expand LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

"The typical LEED certified building ends up with 35 percent cost reduction in energy consumption and 40 percent in reduction of water consumption than a non-LEED building," Paul D'Arelli said.

D'Arelli is the first land use attorney in South Florida to be LEED certified.

"The economic data supports the decision to green your facilities," he said. "It actually helps the bottom line."

The focus of LEED is to move beyond individual buildings to entire neighborhoods developed in an eco-friendly way. But, green goes beyond just energy and water conservation.

"The indoor health air quality and the human health benefits are as important," D'Arelli said.

That's why the design for 321 North maximizes the amount of natural light that gets indoors -- such as with the massive skylight in the mall. The paints, adhesives and other materials will also have a low chemical content.

"What can people expect?" D'Arelli said. "They can expect healthier options for work environment, shopping environments, living environments. To me, that's as exciting and substantial as the fact that we're going to be doing our part to help reduce energy consumption."

The $350 million project is still under review. Construction work could begin as soon as 2008.

Click here for more information on LEED's Neighborhood Pilot Project.