In the past year, we’ve discussed several certified green projects but here’s the creme of the crop, 19 LEED Platinum ones. These projects, mostly homes, all vary — new, old, big, small, modern, traditional, single family, multifamily, certified, pending. Long story short, LEED Platinum, although difficult to attain, is where it’s at. If you’re going to pay for certification, why go for anything less than the best?!
Greenfab, developer of well-designed, sustainable homes, just installed six modules in the Jackson Place neighborhood of Seattle for what’s expected to be the city’s first LEED Platinum modular home. The demonstration home is owned by Robert Humble of HyBrid, project architect and general contractor, and will target net-zero energy and Built Green 5-Star certification.
Bastyr University‘s new student village was named Outstanding Multifamily Project of 2010 by the USGBC. Located north of Seattle in Kenmore, the 11-building project was designed by CollinsWoerman and earned LEED Platinum certification. It’s estimated to save about 34% on energy costs, as compared to a non-green, similar project, and houses 132 students.
Solera Apartments in downtown Denver held its grand opening last month with 30% occupancy and a steady flow of potential lessees. The 11-story, 120-unit project received LEED Gold certification — believed to be the first for a project of this kind in the Rocky Mountain Region — and was named Multi-family Project of the Year by Denver University's School of Real Estate. Beyond that, Solera is expected to save about 60% or more on energy.
As you know, there’s been a lot of back and forth between wood certification bodies, stakeholders, and the USGBC relating to the certified wood credit applicable all commercial LEED rating systems. The debate was documented in a five-part series in The Tyee recently, and led to the creation of the Forest Certification Benchmark.
Project Profiles
