Minto Communities, A South Florida community developer and homebuilder, has announced that its newest community, Cascada at Monterra in Cooper City, Fla., "will set a new standard for energy efficiency, sustainability, and resource conservation."

Introduced under the company's Mintoblue label, furnished models for Minto's Courtyard Homes at Cascada will be designed, constructed, and certified to meet the following agency standards: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED); Energy Star; FPL BuildSmart; Florida Green Building Coalition standards; and standards for the National Association of Home Builders' National Green Building Program.

Production homes at Cascada will be constructed to these same standards.

"This is not some one-off million-dollar showcase home; this will be an entire community of innovative townhomes with 1,400-1,700 square feet of smartly-designed living space, affordably-priced from the low- to mid-$200,000s in a prime location in the heart of Broward County," according to Dirk Neumann, Minto's director of product development and design. "Our goal is to transcend the state of the industry in meeting the needs of our customers."

Mintoblue sustainable features include:

• Impact resistant, energy-efficient, double-paned Argon-insulated low-emissivity windows, sliders, and glass doors for improved energy performance, comfort, and savings.
• High-efficiency central air conditioning and heating with "environmentally safe" R410A refrigerant.
• Use of low-volatile organic compound (VOC) carpet and paints.
• Energy Star appliances and bathroom exhaust fans.
• Compact fluorescent light bulbs.
• Low-flow plumbing fixtures and water-saving water closets.
• An automated drip-irrigation system using surface water with a rain sensor providing reduced consumption and savings.

A spokesperson for Minto did not immediately respond to GBI's request for additional information.

LEED Silver Designation Awarded to Pennsylvania Convenience Store

Multi-format retailer Giant Eagle Inc. last month announced the receipt of a LEED Silver certification for its GetGo convenience store and fuel station in Wexford, Pa.  

This is the company's first LEED-certified fuel and convenience store location, the first of its kind in western Pennsylvania and one of the first in the United States. In December 2004, Giant Eagle opened what is believed to be the first LEED-certified supermarket in the world in Brunswick, Ohio. Since then, Giant Eagle has garnered LEED certification for its Shadyside Market District and New Albany (Columbus) Giant Eagle. The 1,942-square-foot Pine Township GetGo opened in February of last year.

The LEED Silver-certified GetGo features the following:

Fresh air -- Air-quality sensors constantly monitor for carbon dioxide to ensure fresh, clean air throughout the store. Air quality is improved by the use of adhesives, sealants, paints, carpeting, and wood products that are low in VOCs.

Water conservation -- Parking lot landscaping has been planted with drought-tolerant vegetation that requires no irrigation.

Greater energy savings -- The store is designed to consume 21 percent less energy than comparable, conventionally designed supermarkets, with all of the store's electricity produced by green energy sources.

Use less heating and cooling -- Increased insulation and daylighting help the store save energy year round.

Cleaner atmosphere -- The store does not use ozone-depleting refrigerants in its refrigeration and cooling systems.

Recycling and recycled materials -- Most construction waste, such as steel and drywall, was sent to various companies for reuse. Nearly all wood used in the site is harvested from sustainable services. All cabinetry is free of urea formaldehyde, and all gypsum wallboard is made from 10 percent recycled materials. Nearly all food by products, such as cooking oil and trimmings, are transformed into other areas including biodiesel fuel, animal feed, and lubricants.

Emory Conference Center Addition Achieves LEED Silver Status

The Emory Conference Center Hotel (ECCH) last month announced a LEED Silver certification for its new addition. The Hotel & Conference Center is part of the Emory University campus in Atlanta.

The five-story building was rated LEED Silver for sustainable components incorporated into the structure's design and construction. Those environmentally-friendly elements include being a sustainable site that provides connectivity to alternative transportation, water efficiency, the recycling and reuse of building materials and resources, indoor environmental air quality, and innovation in design.

Emory Conference Center Hotel is an active member of several green industry organizations and was the first property in Georgia to be certified by Green Seal Inc.  

The new addition to ECCH includes a five-story structure that connects to the existing building by a bridge and houses 127 new guest rooms, 6,000 square feet of additional meeting space, and Wisteria Lanes -- a six-lane bowling alley that includes a full bar and game room as well as a parking garage. The added guest rooms and meeting space allows ECCH to offer a total of 325 guest rooms and 32,000 square feet of meeting space. The new meeting space consists of a ballroom, boardroom, and seminar room. Renovations also have been completed for the Indoor Pool, Health Club, Club Room, Dining Room, and kitchen in the existing building.  

North Carolina Facility Nets LEED Silver Certification

The Valerie C. Woodard Office Center in Mecklenburg County, N.C., has received LEED Silver certification.

Built by Hendrick Construction Inc., the 180,000-square-foot renovation project transformed the aging Freedom Mall into office space for more than 400 employees. The facility houses Mecklenburg County's Social Services, Information Services, and Technology and Real Estate Services departments.

Green-building features include an under-floor air distribution system and the use of recycled materials throughout the building as well as eco-friendly paints, carpets, and furniture. The facility has an underground irrigation system that collects and stores rainwater from the roof in addition to rain gardens that cool, cleanse, and slow the movement of storm water before it enters nearby creeks.

"This facility is an excellent example of integrated design -- where the sophisticated daylighting design is integrated with artificial lighting controls to dim the lamps and save energy," said Mark Hahn, the county's director of real estate services.

The space was designed by Little Diversified Architectural Consulting and built by Hendrick Construction. Hendrick completed phase two of the project in April of last year. When phase three is completed, the building will accommodate more than 1,000 county employees in approximately 400,000 square feet of space.

EPA Awards Energy Star Label to a Third Liberty Mutual Building

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded its Energy Star label to a third Liberty Mutual building and increased the rating on one of the company's other previously Energy Star-labeled facilities.

This year, the company's Dover, N.H., West Campus received an Energy Star label for the energy saved by reducing by an hour both the lighting schedule and the building's heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning/boiler run time. Liberty Mutual's Boston headquarters, which received an Energy Star label last year, increased the facility's label rating by 9 percent, earning it an 84 rating, up from a 77 rating, through lowering gas usage and decreasing chiller run time. The company's Weston, Mass., office was the second building to receive the Energy Star label last year and retains its rating of 82.

This latest recognition from EPA adds another award to Liberty Mutual's portfolio of resource conservation and preservation initiatives that include five LEED-certified buildings and development of a flexible green property insurance endorsement. In December, the company received the 2009 Environmental Leader Award from Automotive Fleet magazine for having 50 percent of its automotive fleet consist of partial-zero-emission vehicles and flex-fuel vehicles.

"Because standard commercial property insurance policies typically do not cover many aspects of green properties, companies that want to reduce their carbon footprint face unique insurance requirements," said Ann Butterworth, director of property underwriting for Liberty Mutual Property. "Whether a company has a green building or would like to take the necessary steps to 'green' their current business, property owners should work with their insurance brokers or agents to purchase green insurance coverage from an insurer that performs onsite engineering visits and offers insight on the valuation analysis to assist them with arriving at an accurate property assessment."

From Liberty Mutual's company-wide campaign to use recycled paper, which saved the equivalent of 2,300 trees last year, to its local storage of archived records that eliminated the consumption of more than 352,000 gallons of diesel fuel in the past 18 months, the company will continue to seek out ways that improve the environment and the bottom line.

Working Artists Ventura Pursuing LEED Silver

The Working Artists Ventura (WAV) project in Irvine, Calif., is pursuing a LEED for New Construction v2.2 rating of Silver and has the potential of attaining a Gold rating.

The WAV community features recycled building materials, car sharing, water and energy conservation, and renewable solar power.

WAV is a state-of-the-art community designed for artists and creative businesses, according to project developers. The project consists of 69 new units of affordable housing, all serving low-income families and individuals from across the region. Fifteen of the units are designed to provide permanent supportive housing, intended to house recently homeless families and individuals from across Ventura County.

RBF Consulting provided professional engineering, surveying, mapping, and construction support services for the new, mixed-use, high-density project, which has been submitted for consideration as the first LEED-certified affordable housing project in Ventura County and the second in California.

Dinerstein Companies Aims to Set Green Building Firsts With LEED Apartments in Texas, California, Florida

The Dinerstein Companies, a Houston-based multi-family developer of luxury apartments, is seeking LEED certification for new properties in California, Texas, and Florida. Development of the luxury apartments and off-campus student housing, including University of Central Florida (UCF) apartments for up to 1,500 college students, is expected to make LEED firsts in multiple states and make Dinerstein one of the largest green apartment builders in America.

In 2008, The Dinerstein Companies adopted green building standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council for LEED. Four apartment properties built to green LEED standards are now preleasing.

Sterling Collwood is a 264-unit student housing community near San Diego State University in California. LEED Gold is expected for apartments at this university.

"Sterling Collwood is the first privately funded off-campus student housing apartment project to seek LEED Gold certification," said Don Brooks, LEED AP. Collwood is among "the greenest student housing projects in the nation."

Sterling Central at UCF in Orlando is expected to become the state's first student housing community to seek LEED Silver certification. The off-campus UCF apartments also will be the first project expedited through the City of Orlando's "Orange to Green" program.

In addition to student housing, The Dinerstein Companies is developing The Millennium Warner Center. This four-story, 438-unit apartment community in Woodland Hills is "one of the largest green luxury apartment projects in California seeking LEED Silver certification," Brooks said. The Los Angeles luxury apartments are expected to become the first LEED Silver certified luxury apartments in the San Fernando Valley.

Also under development is The Millennium Waterway Ave., the first apartments in The Woodlands, Texas, seeking LEED Silver certification and the greenest in metropolitan Houston.

All of these properties are scheduled to open this year.

Allstate Data Center Awarded LEED Gold Certification

Allstate Insurance Co., believed to be the largest publicly held personal lines insurer in the United States, recently announced that its new data center in Rochelle, Ill., has attained LEED Gold certification.

The Allstate facility, which opened last year, is one of the few mission-critical data centers in America to receive the Gold designation. It is considered a key component of a larger strategy to reduce the number of Allstate data centers to two by year's end and to increase power efficiency and computing capacity.

Allstate's data center achieved LEED Gold certification for incorporating various sustainable technology, design, and construction strategies that positively impact the project itself and the broader community, including, according to Allstate:

• Leading-edge hardware and more efficient virtualization software that cut the space and power computers use in half.
• An environmental system that blends heat from computers, outside air, and mechanical equipment to keep office areas comfortable and equipment rooms cool.
• A white roof to reflect heat rather than absorb.
• Glass outside of office walls to take advantage of natural light.
• Concrete made from recycled materials.
• Native landscaping requiring no irrigation and minimal maintenance.

Allstate has two LEED APs on staff, and two other Allstate-owned facilities in Illinois that have undergone retro-commissioning reviews based on LEED criteria. Several energy-conservation and greenhouse-gas-reduction measures at those facilities and across Allstate are under way.

Bakery Earns LEED Platinum Status

Claire's on Cedros bakery and cafe in Solana Beach, Calif., has been awarded LEED Platinum certification.

It is believed to be the first metropolitan San Diego restaurant to achieve the highest ranking of this certification, earning this award as one of only four restaurants in the U.S. and one of two in California. Additionally, the restaurant is the first project in San Diego County to qualify for and be granted a reduction on Coastal Commission permit fees and holds a Certified Green Restaurant designation by the Green Restaurant Association.

The project, located on a 20,000-square-foot parcel of land, features an American bistro cafe and bakery with a separate commercial office space and an attached live/work loft. Jean-Louis Coquereau of JLC Architecture led the design team, which included interior designer Maura Johnson and Naomi Stein of M&W Landscaping Inc.