FORT MYERS, Fla,-Watermark Communities Inc., a Florida developer, has contributed $350,000 to Florida Gulf Coast University's fundraising campaign for a building project that will demonstrate and teach eco-friendly building methods, according to the Environmental News Network.

To be named the WCI Green Building Demonstration and Learning Center, the new facility in Fort Myers, Florida, will be the first in the region to foster environmentally sustainable and healthy building, housing and landscape practices through demonstration projects and educational outreach programs.

Current building and landscaping practices are placing unsustainable pressures on the natural infrastructure and reducing quality of life. Current building practices are using up limited resources at great ecological and economic costs.

The new building will be an example of environmentally sustainable building practices and resource-efficient materials.

The $500,000 raised from the community by the Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation Inc. is matched dollar-for-dollar by the Florida state legislature. The design phase for the building will begin in December.