Council Awards Excellence in Sustainable Design

July, 2008 - In early May the Connecticut Green Building Council solicited nominations from the general public for green building projects that were worthy of recognition. In early June a panel of noted experts picked six projects that embraced sustainable design. The winners were grouped as “most intriguing” or “intriguing” – in residential and institutional markets.

Here are the winners.

Residential

MOST INTRIGUING was awarded to the Usquepaug Residence designed by Lindsay Suter AIA. This project is a culmination of architectural training in good design using quality materials and interesting sustainable principles.

A very nice project, every passive sustainable device was used. The project is modest and simple resulting in an elegant affordable residence. The unique aspect to this design is the taking advantage of a great northern view by using a lot of glass to obtain the view and even daylight without glare, but solving the heat loss potential by an effective and handsome shutter system.

INTRIGUING was awarded for another simple basic, responsible Norfolk Residence again by Lindsay Suter AIA. This design is compact and efficient; using natural ventilation for the building.

The basic fuel for heating is a wood stove that was reduced in size due to its ability to work efficiently. The materials selected and attention to best construction practices result in a fine lesson on how to build an affordable house.

Institutional

MOST INTRIGUING was awarded to the Yale Sculpture Building and Gallery, designed by Kieran Timberlake Associates in association with BVH Engineers. The building incorporates just about every sustainable device and design possible.

This project demonstrates what good design and extraordinary planning can produce. A green roof covers about 90% of the whole structure.

INTRIGUING was awarded to the Barnard Magnet School whose design showed a very aggressive energy program undertaken by the City of New Haven. The significance of this project, designed by Roberta Washington and David Thompson collaborative architects is what can be done using public funds. The project incorporates an existing school building and a fine looking addition to meeting the goals of LEED Gold. Much attention has been paid to using all the building functions as a learning laboratory for its students.

INTRIGUING was awarded to the Yale School of Medicine, Sterling Hall Laboratory Wing by Svigals and Partners architects. The building design was used as an experiment by Yale to see what can be achieved using sustainable ideas in a laboratory environment.

The use of Daylight transparency, strategies to develop a better work environment, recyclable materials and products that produce no off-gases was a significant attempt to demonstrate what can be done. The project has been widely published and now sets a standard for all laboratories for Yale medical school.

INTRIGUING was awarded to the Burton Family Football/Mark Shenkman Training Center Complex by JCJ architects in collaboration with HOK Sports. This project is significant in that it is the first NCAA Athletic Sustainable project as well as the first LEED project on the UCONN Campus. A challenging site and a building configuration lead to a solid design and planning effort to make this building a responsible partner on Campus.

Source: The Connecticut Green Building Council

NEF Funds Connecticut's First Green Multifamily Project

This $22.2M transit-oriented historic preservation project is restoring the landmark Capitol Building in downtown Hartford and creating 70 units of mixed-income housing and storefront commercial space that will add new life to this area. NEF and the project sponsor, Common Ground, have committed to having the project meet the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) protocols. Eighty percent of the new homes will be affordable to residents with incomes below 60 percent of the area median income, with rents starting at $765.

"This is a project that embodies so much of what NEF has been about over the years," commented Joe Hagan, NEF president and CEO. "It is a centerpiece of a downtown revitalization effort. It preserves an historic structure. It meets a pressing local need by expanding the city's stock of high-quality affordable housing. And it is green, both in terms of its commitment to LEED® standards and its proximity to public transit, jobs, services and other amenities that encourage residents to leave their cars behind. There is no way not to be excited about the impact this project will have," he said.

The building is now known as the Hollander Foundation Center, in honor of the Hollander family that donated it.

Sponsored by Common Ground -- a top New York-based nonprofit organization focused on meeting the needs of low-income residents and communities -- the rehab of the Hollander Foundation Center incorporates sustainable design elements that enhance energy efficiency and reduce the building's carbon footprint. Green elements include a high-efficiency heating system, low-flow fixtures, an energy-efficient lighting plan, EnergyStar appliances and plans for a green roof. Common Ground now incorporates green in all of its projects in Connecticut and New York.

NEF provided funding for the project through Common Ground's allocation of low-income housing tax credits and historic tax credits, both stemming from federal programs designed to encourage private-sector investment in affordable housing.

Source: www.earthtimes.org

Recent Connecticut LEED Registered and Green Projects

The state had several building projects over the last two months that have registered with the the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). These projects cover comercial, residential and retail.

Waypointe, Norwalk - This massive project is a mixed use property planned for Norwalk by Stanley Seligson. The nineteen acre, six block development that will change the landscape of downtown Norwalk. One building located at 467 West Ave will shoot for LEED New Construction.

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London - The smallest of the five U.S. service academies has registered its Research and Development Center on One Chealsea Street, LEED Commercial Interiors.

Seasons Credit Union, Meriden - Registered last month, the Seasons Credit Union with five branches in Middesex County will look to have its Meriden location LEED Commercial Interiors.

The New Canaan Village Plaza, New Canaan - Last week this plaza was registered and will be one of a handful of retail structures in the state to be LEED registered New Construction.

Kingswood Oxford School, West Hartford - Add one more green school project to the growing list. The Math and Technology Center at Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford registered last month for LEED Schools.

Lot E Mixed Use Development which is on Howe Street in New Haven and next to the new Yale Cancer Center will have restaurants, offices and retail when completed. The owner, Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation has registered the 56,520 sf project LEED New Construction.

Newtown Youth Academy has registered its new 86,600 sf building at Fairfield Circle LEED New Construction.

Kimberly-Clark's New Milford Mill has announced its energy independence with the start-up in April of the Company's new Combined Heat and Power (CHP) facility. The Mill's Energy Independence Project uses clean burning natural gas to provide all of the mill's electric and thermal power needs while generating additional power for southwestern Connecticut, one of the tightest and most expensive electric markets in the nation.

The design for the new campus of Gateway Community College in New Haven was recently unveiled at the current New Haven campus of Gateway Community College. The campus development hopes to achieve gold-certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the industry standard administered by the U.S. Green Building Council. The campus will be a four-story, 360,000 square-foot building on Church Street and is projected to cost $198 million. It is slated for construction starting in the summer of 2009 with a completion date of September 2012.

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company of Quincy, MA, announced last month that they have been awarded LEED(R) Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (US GBC). This achievement distinguishes Stop & Shop not only as the first supermarket chain, but also the first company in the country earning Volume Certification under the Portfolio Program.

The new 845-space garage that will be next to the the new Smilow Cancer Hospital in New Haven will have some green features. The developer of the gararge plans to use nontoxic building materials and will purchase the concrete locally, rather than shipping it from hundreds of miles away, while photovoltaic cells on the roof are expected to provide all the electricity needed for the five-level garage.

Yale has one more green building to add to its inventory. The Park Street Building has registered LEED New Construction 2.2 with the U.S. Green Building Council.

Planet Self Storage in Newington has installed a 27.7 kw solar photovoltaic system that will supply about 30% of total electric needs.

The Hooker Environmental Studies Magnet School in Hartford and the Discovery Magnet Elementary School in Bridgeport have both registered with the U.S. Green Building Council as LEED for Schools 2.0 and the Stevens Building at The New Canaan Country School has been certified by the U.S. Green Building Council as LEED Silver.

The GPC - Innis Arden Cottage at Greenwich Point, Old Greenwich has registered for LEED New Construction for a 4,000 square Foot interpretive center.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Receives Green Building Award

The Green Building Initiative (GBI), an education and marketing initiative dedicated to accelerating the adoption of green building practices has recognized Bristol-Myers Squibb's research facility in Wallingford, Conn. The GBI this month announced that several organizations would be recognized for promoting and instituting green building practices.

The building is being showcased for, among other things, providing a healthy indoor environment, having a comprehensive energy management plan--on site renewable energy and high-efficiency features such as lighting and boilers. The facility uses the new module of the GBI's Green Globes rating system—Green Globes for Continual Improvement of Existing Buildings (Green Globes-CIEB).

“While there’s significant room for improvement, Earth Day is an opportunity to celebrate the steps people take every day to better our built environment,” said Ward Hubbell, GBI president. “It’s also a day to focus on how we can continue educating ourselves and others about the many ways we can collectively contribute to a more sustainable world.”

The GBI also recognized the launch of a state-wide residential green building program in Kentucky and the presentation of a sustainability award to a team of university students and professors at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) annual People, Prosperity, Planet (P3) award ceremony in Washington, DC.

For more information about the GBI, visit www.thegbi.org.

Mystic Businesses Move To New Green Digs

Health in Harmony, a holistic center in this seaside town is moving to a larger, expanded location in downtown Mystic that will incorporate many green features and will also house, Citrus, an organic juice bar café. The company's Web site states, "Everything that is going into our renovation is renewable and coming from the earth. Our new heating and cooling system is particularly exciting in that it has sensors inside and out to monitor the outside temperature."

The buildings other green features include:

• Plant-based insulation
• Gypsum eco-friendly drywall
• Cork and bamboo flooring and ceiling tiles
• Travertine tile…a naturally occurring stone
• High-velocity heating and cooling
• VOC-less paints
• Use of recycled building materials in our design
• Use of corn-based compostable containers for food take away
• Energy efficient appliances Support of local businesses to avoid shipping and transportation emissions and fuel consumption
• Use of non-toxic cleaning products and recycled paper products

Citrus organic juice bar café offers gourmet prepared fresh whole foods, raw foods and juices. This will be an exclusive in Southeastern Connecticut. Citrus will offer a seasonal menu with a variety of weekly specials utilizing many local farmers for produce.

Source: www.health-in-harmony.com

Branford Bike Shop Announces New Green Store

It is one thing for a company that makes or sells a product that is eco-friendly to tout its value to society but it’s an even better thing when the company decides to embrace these best green practices themselves. Especially when it’s a small business. Such is the case of world famous Zane’s Cycles in Branford. A leader in bicycle retailing, the store has announced it will build a new green store that when completed in October 2008, might just be the envy of the industry.

The store, which has been in business for more than 26 years, has been recognized as an industry leader for its commitments to its customers and employees will enhance those commitments by building a new store using green features. At a ground breaking ceremony attended by city and state officials last month, it was announced the new structure will include, solar panels that will eventually produce 60 percent of the shop's power needs, a wind generator (rendition pictured) that is in the shape of a large eight foot wheel, originally thought of as an ornament to the building but in reality will actually turn and generate power to the shop, and an extensive water reclamation program. “We really wanted to diminish our footprint when we decided to build,” said store owner Chris Zane. “We were committed to Branford and we wanted to make sure our impact was in a positive manner.”

Source: The Day

State's Greenest Large-scale Residential Building

Becker + Becker, the architect and developer of the redevelopment of the Shartenberg Site at 745-807 Chapel Street in downtown New Haven will look to construct a green mixed use property that includes 460 apartments (including 50 affordable units), grocery store and other retail, parking garage, and an early childhood education center.

The projected cost of the project will be $160 Million and cover 700,000 square feet with partial funding from public funds. It will revitalize a long-underutilized 1.5-acre site in a prime downtown location, a block away from the New Haven Green and across the street from the State Street train station. It is believed to be the largest private new construction project ever built in New Haven and the greenest large-scale residential building in Connecticut.

This project has been selected to be a pilot project for the LEED Program for Neighborhood Development and will include such green features as geothermal wells, photovoltaic arrays, recycled and local materials, and fuel cell(s).

Source: Becker + Becker

New RBS Office Building Goes For LEED

The new Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Global Banking & Markets headquarters in downtown Stamford is starting to take shape. When completed in early 2009, it will include a 95,000-square-foot trading floor, house 3,000 new workers and hopes to achieve the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold rating.

"It will set a mark for future buildings in Stamford. It's a 21st-century building," said the building's architect, Roger Ferris, principal partner in Roger Ferris & Partners in Westport, CT. "RBS is sensitive to the environment around the Mill River, which borders the site, and will develop a park-like setting with a trail along the river," he said.

Located on Washington Boulevard, the building will have easy access to the downtown train station and Interstate 95. Construction is continuing through the winter with large sheets of plastic wrapped around much of the building to shield workers from winds. This spring, more than 1,000 tradesmen will be working on the $400 million complex. RBS is receiving $100 million in tax breaks from the state, and the city is forgoing a portion of the property tax revenue for the first five years of the building's use.

Source: Stamford Advocate

Green Luxury Resort Planned For Preston

Northland Investment Corporation, the largest property owner in Hartford has announced it has proposed Preston Green, a $1 billion, mixed-use green luxury resort for Preston which will feature five-star hotels, a world-class spa, a riverfront marina, amenity retail, attractive seasonal and active adult residences, renovation and reuse of three existing historic buildings, public access to the river and a championship 18-hole golf course.

In a New London Day editorial published this past Sunday, Northland Chairman Larry Gottesdiener wrote, "Preston Green carefully crafts a mix of uses, based upon a green development approach that is designed to minimize traffic, large-scale surface parking and the impact on town services, while maximizing taxes and jobs."

The development will also incorporate tradition neighborhood design strategies by attracting the public to waterfront activities, a new town hall, an expansive Town Common and nature trails with hiking and biking paths ringing the entire development. The site will also rehab a contaminated site into a "pristine" landscape. Gottesdiener also points out that 250 acres, or 60 percent of the site, will remain as open space.

Gottesdiener concludes, "Preston Green will not be a walled-off resort. There is a better way. What we have designed in Preston Green is a resort that integrates with the community in an environmentally sustainable way. That is the future."

Source: www.theday.com

Orange Retail Plaza Goes Green

Go Green Plaza on the Boston Post Road in Orange is Connecticut's first commercial site to be registered with the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system. The site which was the former Overhead Door Company and had been abandoned for decades has been developed by Go Green, LLC and will enhance this busy commercial zone.

Some of the green attributes of the plaza include:

• Demolition. Methodically razed the building, separating its materials into piles of steel, concrete, wood, metal, glass, and asphalt for sale to recycling companies.

• Windows. Low E thermal windows block UV rays, let in 93% of natural light, and reduce lighting costs. • Heating and cooling. Four Carrier Centurion 48 PG Ultra High Efficiency single package gas heating/electric cooling commercial roof top units with Puron-R410A refrigerant.

• Cool Roof. The Cool MR-24 Metal Roof system reduces surface temperature, keeps occupants cooler in warm weather, and does not contribute to the heat island effect of cities.

• Water. Up to 90% of rainwater drains directly from the pitched roof into four 16-foot wide dry wells, with no polluting effect upon the town sewer system or Long Island Sound.

• Interior. Half the interior was finished to tenant specifications and incorporates environmentally friendly features such as low flush toilets, low energy hand driers, non-toxic wall paint, and more.

For the developers, the cost of green building dropped dramatically over the three years of the project. They had estimated premiums well over 30%, but the final budget showed a mere 2% of total building costs to go green. “The competitive market is taking over,” explains Robert Kravitz a spokesperson for Go Green. The additional building cost is covered by the fact that the building can command a slightly higher lease, while the tenant saves far more on energy costs.

Source: Go Green, LLC Press Release

Windermere To Be First LEED Luxury Community in Connecticut

NRDC Residential, the recently-formed residential subsidiary of Purchase, NY-based National Realty & Development Corporation, has announced the unveiling of the first model home for Windermere on the Lake, a luxurious, environmentally advanced planned community located in the historic Long Ridge area in Stamford, Connecticut. Designed by the renowned architectural firm, Bartels-Pagliaro, the community will consist of 24 luxurious Arts and Crafts-inspired homes on 75 spectacular acres.

Windermere on the Lake is pursuing a LEED-certification, which would make it the first LEED-certified luxury planned community in Connecticut. The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) created the LEED™, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, rating system to serve as the benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED is a particularly impressive and demanding designation for a planned community to achieve, given the rigorous specification requirements associated with the rating for single-family home construction.

“We are extremely proud to announce the unveiling of Windermere on the Lake,” said Mark Robbins, President of NRDC Residential. “The extraordinary community represents the culmination of nearly three years of meticulous planning and the assembly of a carefully-selected eam of world renowned professionals. Everyone associated with this community has shared a vision of creating the new model of environmentally conscious living, and we are both excited and eager to present this shared vision to the public.”

Windermere on the Lake homes will feature varying levels of industry leading eco-friendly options such as sustainable building materials, low-VOC paint and carpets, optional geothermal heating and cooling systems, superior insulation, multi-zone Hydro-Air HVAC systems, precise construction tolerances, custom LED lighting, and professional-grade appliances. In addition, these Energy Star®-qualified new homes meet efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The land will be conserved too. A Habitat Management Plan includes wetland restoration and preservation features that naturally improve water quality and prevent erosion. Where necessary, invasive plants have been removed and replaced with native species that promote the long-term health of the overall environment. Lastly, native wildlife is encouraged to thrive, with wildflower and butterfly plantings, bluebird nesting boxes, and a log-crib habitat structure in the picturesque ponds.

Source: stamfordplus.com

Fairfield Firm Wins Green Residential Awards

Summit Residential, LLC of Fairfield, has received three HOBI (Home Building Industry) Awards for its new active adult community, Bartlett Hollow, in Middletown. Summit has received awards for Best Green Community, Best Detached 55+ Community (over 2,000 sq. ft). and Best Green Feature for the homes’ solar panels. The development, when completed, will have 25 Energy-Star® certified homes that will also have geothermal heating and cooling systems for space conditioning.

While geothermal heating/cooling systems are not yet widely known, this up and coming technology incorporates an underground piping loop, heat exchanger and compressor. During heating season, refrigerant in the underground loop absorbs heat from the ground. This heat is used to warm the air, which is carried throughout the home via ductwork. For cooling, the process is essentially reversed. Warm air is pulled out of the house through the ductwork into the underground loop where the heat is released into the ground, and the cooled refrigerant cools the air to be circulated through the ductwork back into the house. Using the earth’s energy for power, geothermal systems have extremely low operating costs . For example, during the month of August 2007, the total energy cost for the Barlett Hollow model was $102. While the model home does not have any cost for water heating, the costs reflect round the clock air conditioning, a refrigerator and lighting. September costs were just $32.

Another benefit of geothermal systems is reduced green house gas emissions since they do not burn fossil fuels, and with no combustion in the heating/cooling process, no carbon dioxide is produced.

The model at Bartlett Hollow was also chosen as the Home Builders Association of Connecticut Showcase Home of the Year for 2007. The home’s low energy bill, combined with hardwood flooring, granite counter tops, custom cabinetry, a luxurious first floor master suite and guest suite on the second floor, brought out many prospective homebuyers as well as those curious about the geothermal system and the solar panel. More than 200 people toured the custom-designed arts-and-crafts style home during the charity Open Houses in September.

“During the Showcase Open House weekend, we raised more than $5,500 to benefit Middlesex Habitat for Humanity,” said Pendry. “It was wonderful that so many people turned out to support Habitat, and we hope they learned a little about the quality of the homes Summit Residential builds as well,” he added.

“With the City of Middletown’s emphasis on clean energy, Summit Residential felt it was the perfect place to locate an active adult community built to Energy Star standards. In addition to owning energy-efficient homes, residents will have the option to leave their cars at home if they like. Bartlett Hollow is located on a mass transit line with easy access to shopping and area attractions, and is within walking distance of Wesleyan University and its many educational and cultural opportunities,” Pendry added.

Source: Summit Residential

Old Clairol Site To Be Green Magnet School

The city of Stamford has finally broken ground on the long awaited $58 million dollar school project that will be an environmental magnet school inside and outside the classroom. Designed by world famous Hartford, Connecticut based Tai Soo Kim Partners, the school will be built to the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards.

The site, the former headquarters of Clairol, has been the center of debate in Stamford. Residents around the Blachley Road property have not been pleased with the prospect of out of town students coming into the cove area and they also site a current school in the neighborhood. Others feared the property was contaminated by Clairol. In the end, the City of Stamford stepped in, bought the property and declared it tested and safe.

When complete, the green features of this environmental magnet school will include,

• A windmill intended to demonstrate wind power to the students;
• Interaction with the nearby cove on the Long Island Sound.
• A green roof over 50 percent of the building;
• Chillers for the air conditioning system; and
• A rain garden, daylight harvesting and water savings.

"In this case [the board of representatives] actually had to stick their necks out," said Mayor Dannel Malloy. "The city closed on the property before the state was able to guarantee funding for the school project."


Source: The Stamford Times

Swiss Army’s New Green Office in Monroe

This past summer, Connecticut gained more green building square footage when Swiss Army, Inc. North America opened its new 160,000-square-foot green headquarters in Monroe. The office building and distribution center incorporate state of the art energy saving equipment and the outside of the building will get a soon to be completed bike path that will connect Newtown to the Bridgeport ferry landing.

Swiss Army which relocated its 177 employees to Monroe from Shelton, will now have a worker friendly building that uses various sustainable design methods. Here are some of those features.

• The two-story structure is placed to minimize heat gain from the sun;
• Energy-saving equipment and materials were designed into the structure;
• The building uses low-energy fluorescent light bulbs and sensors to turn lights off automatically;
• Most offices are toward the center of the building, with the cubicles nearer the windows. This allows as much natural light in as possible;
• Recycled and recyclable materials were used in the construction of the building;
• A developer donated land along the property for a bike trail. He's also donated the labor, materials and equipment needed to upgrade and maintain the existing trail, which will be part of the connector between Newtown and the Bridgeport ferry landing.

The building recently had tours for various community and state elected officials which included Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, state Sen. Bill Finch and Andrew Nunn and Ray Baldwin, the mayors of Monroe and Trumbull, respectively.


Source: The Connecticut Post

Metro Green Will Be Green Model in Connecticut

Metro Green, an eco-friendly mixed use development in Stamford gained final approval last week from the city and construction will begin soon. The first phase of the project, Metro Green Apartments, has been designed to meet the Enterprise Green Communities guidelines. It will also be seeking the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification and has been selected as a pilot project under the draft LEED Neighborhood Design criteria. Metro Tower—the office component of the project—has been designed to meet USGBC’s LEED gold standard.

With an increase in demand for workforce affordable housing, the project’s development team, W&M Properties and Jonathan Rose Cos., hope to provide 238 market-rate and affordable apartments and condominiums while trying to have lowest possible environmental impact. The complex will be located adjacent to the south side of the Stamford Metro-North train station, encouraging residents to conserve resources by using public transportation instead of personal cars.

“Metro Green is a model solution of how communities can develop market-based solutions to climate change,” says Jonathan Rose. “Building mixed-income green developments with integral office space near our transit hubs is key to smart growth.”

Source: multi-housingnews.com

Green Pilot Project Grows in Hamden

Trailside Village, LLC in Hamden, in conjunction with Ravenswood Construction, LLC, of Cheshire, Urbanminers.com of Hamden, The Habitat for Humanity Restore in Stratford and The ReConnstruction Center in New Britain; are cooperating in a Green Building Project. Four structures at 20 and 36 Todd Street in Hamden requiring removal are being renovated or deconstructed instead of being demolished.

The completion of Trailside Village, an Active Adult Community Condominium project in the Mount Carmel section of Hamden, requires the removal of these structures. Rather than simply demolishing the buildings and throwing away the materials, Dean Fiske of Ravenswood Homes (the Developer of the project) wanted to find a means for “ saving as much of the building materials as possible from the dumpster”.

Mr. Fiske along with Joe DeRisi of urbanminers.com, a trained “deconstructionist”, developed a plan to utilize two local “reuse” not for profit organizations; Habitat for Humanity’s “Restore” in Stratford and The ReConnstruction Center in New Britain.

According to Mr. DeRisi, “ up to 80 % of the total materials of a typical residential structure can be salvaged for reuse or recycling”.

The Trailside Village project includes using volunteers, including Tom Gabrielson, the habitat store manager, and John Powers, a board member from the ReConnstruction Center, to disassemble each structure piece by piece.

The result is truckloads of reusable 2x4’s, double glazed windows , solid wood doors, kitchen cabinets ,trim and molding. Materials are donated to the Restores and shipped to them by truck or sometimes sold directly off the site.

“These cooperative pilot projects can also demonstrate methods for reducing costs in more typical construction activities, not only when disassembling buildings”, according to Joe DeRisi of urbanminers.com. “ For example, the plywood recovered from the roof of one of the buildings was used for temporary security walls on other parts of the project. Also, community participation can help educate citizens about construction and recycling concepts that apply to their daily activities and demonstrate that these reuse stores exist for them as a source of used materials for their own projects. Perhaps most importantly, Trailside Village is demonstrating another way that a new housing development can be a “green” building project, by reducing waste and energy use."

For more information about this renovation and deconstruction project please contact Joe DeRisi at urbanminers.com at 203 824-1724 or e-mail at joe@urbanminers.com. Or call Ravenswood Homes in Cheshire at 203 272-3574.

Former Perkin Elmer Headquarters Goes Green

Greenwich-based National RE/Sources LLC is converting the former Perkin Elmer facility on Main Avenue in Norwalk into a green office park. The i.park Norwalk office complex will have a 300,000-square-foot main building that will be Class A office space and built to the U. S. Green Building Council’s LEED (leadership in energy and environmental design) certification standards and will include a green rooftop. A second building in i.park also will be converted into a LEED-certified building and feature ‘low ‘e’ Energy Star™ windows, energy efficient HVAC and recycled materials.

Lynne Ward, vice president of leasing at National RE/Sources, which is spending $50 million on the conversion commented on the green roof top, "It's new in the country. There are none in Fairfield County," she said, estimating that more than an acre of the roof will be green. "California was far ahead on this."

Solar panels will be installed on another section of the roof.This is the first LEED project for National RE/Sources, which specializes in converting former manufacturing complexes into large office complexes. Other National RE/Sources projects include the former Lockheed plant in Lake Success, N.Y., as well as former industrial sites in Yonkers and Tarrytown, N.Y.; Wiscassett, Maine; and Edgewater, N.J.

For more about this great green project, click here>>

Source: Stamford Advocate

Greenhill is Mega Green Complex

Reprinted from Auggie V's Green Blog, May 9, 2007

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting with Jonathan Putnam of Cushman and Wakefield’s Hartford office to discuss a great project he and Cushman are involved with in Wallingford. The project, Campus at Greenhill, was at one time, scheduled to be the home of Mortgage Lenders Network (MLN) but unfortunately, the company went from super star to super dud when the sub-prime mortgage industry collapsed. MLN had made a commitment to lease a green building and Workstage Development committed to building it. Well MLN is gone but the complex is still being built and it incorporates many sustainable design features.

Jon informed me that the space, when completed, will be one of the largest commercial Class A green building properties in the state and the region and is currently registered with the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system. The building will cover 305,000 sf, and includes such noted enhancements as,

• Expansive window lines with abundant natural light.
• Under floor power, voice and data distribution with plug-and-play capability.
• Underfloor Air Distribution system delivers high quality of indoor air.
• Located close to major routes and train line.
• Solid pool of skilled workers from New Haven and Hartford counties.

Talking with Jon, I learned that this is no ordinary office building. The new tenants will get something very hip and modern that has some great add-ons. Jon states, “Greenhill should appeal to the tenant that embraces green technology and saving some “greenbacks” in the form of an estimated 43% lower energy consumption than a traditional office building. The combination of the unique under floor heating and cooling system, increased day-lighting and improved insulation techniques provide a much lower use of energy, which is further enhanced by Wallingford’s lowest statewide cost for electricity produced by its own cooperative power plant.”

More and more green commercial properties are becoming the norm in Connecticut. In about five-ten years, if your building isn’t green, you’re done. Greenhill is a great property that will make one or several companies very productive and their employees very happy. If you are interested in finding out more about Greenhill and taking a virtual tour, click here>>

Habitat For Humanity Green Home Project
56-54 Risley Street, Hartford

It's Easy Being Green - Starting April, 2006, Habitat will begin constructing a duplex home using green building technology. Buildingctgreen.com will diary the project, allowing our visitors to learn about constructing a green home from the ground up.

Habitat for Humanity is partnering with two families in Hartford’s North East neighborhood by providing an opportunity for them to build and own their own homes. That in itself is a wonderful gift but this gift will be enhanced by its eco-friendly building materials. Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity will construct its first green home and AuctorVerno will assist in promotion and project coordination. The project is made possible with consulting support provided by Hartford based United Technologies Corporation and Global Green USA and sponsorship support by Carrier Corporation and Nationwide. . .

To read more about the Habitat for Humanity Green Home Project, click here.