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Palmyra Project on Track to Become Indiana's First LEED Certified Affordable Apartments
Author: Christin Fishwick Kappel
Source: The Architecture Studio Inc.
Date Written: 10/10/2008
Located in Palmyra, Indiana, the Country Trace Apartments project is on schedule to become the first affordable LEED Certified apartments in the state. Ideally located on a 4-acre site off of State Highway 135 near downtown Palmyra this project will bring a much needed service to this small community and its 700 people. In addition to being a valuable attribute to the area, the project will demonstrate the industry's growing commitment to providing green affordable housing for those in need.
This project will provide 28 affordable housing apartments to senior citizens within the Palmyra community. Six apartments of this project are set to achieve LEED for Homes Certified status upon completion. Although only 6 of the units in this project will be going for the LEED certified status, every unit is held to the highest standards of excellence for energy and water conservation.
Blue River Services, Inc., an Indiana nonprofit, is developing the project with the help of various funding sources. Units will be made available to tenants with a range of incomes and will offer services needed for seniors in the area. Local social services have committed to providing case management, meals on wheels, caregiver support, counseling, legal services, adult foster care, and a mobile library. Located within a mile of the project site are a number of amenities including a grocery store, park, medical center, restaurants, service stations, bank and shops. A scheduled vanpool will be made available to every resident, thus decreasing the need for individual automobile usage to reach many places of business a resident would regularly frequent.
Milestone Ventures, a consultant to Blue River Services, has a history of providing energy efficient affordable apartments and recognizes the value of the design features promoted by the LEED rating system. Every unit of the project will feature many of the same green building strategies as the LEED apartments including Energy Star ® appliances and lighting, dual flush toilets, low flow fixtures, and heat pump furnaces. Milestone Ventures' history with using green building practices, energy smart appliances, and water conserving fixtures made the transition into the LEED process a painless one.
An integrated team approach was utilized to gather and share information regarding green building strategies and implementing LEED goals. All parties involved with the project worked closely together with a green rater in order to incorporate important design strategies. Elements Engineering designed the site to make use of existing landscape and open space as much as possible. They employed a trench of existing trees and a rain garden to help absorb on-site runoff. Pedestrian circulation is promoted through accessible sidewalks branching off of the development's primary routes. The architectural plans designed by The Architecture Studio incorporated many green techniques including radon removal systems, durability measures to ensure lasting quality, low flow fixtures, and Energy Star ® lighting, windows and heating equipment to optimize energy usage. The project's contractor, James L. Shireman Inc., used their knowledge of energy conscious building techniques as a basis to contribute to the project's design.
As we are quickly ushered into a green world, Country Trace Apartments is proof that affordable housing and green housing can go hand in hand and be beneficial for everyone involved.
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Draper to Sponsor Social at Greenbuild
Draper Industries of Spiceland, IN, a sponsor of USGBC-IN, will sponsor The Greenguard Environmental Institute's "Pub Night" to be held the evening of November 19 at Ned Devine's in Fanueil Hall in Boston.
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Fort Wayne Chapter Branch Hosts Program
The Fort Wayne branch held its September program on September 11. thirty-five attendees heard keynote speaker Jim Magee, CxA with Facility Commissioning Group, Nicholasville, KY.
Magee spoke in detail about fundamental and enhanced building commissioning as it relates to LEED projects. The event was held at Sweetwater Sound's new headquarters building (LEED-NC Registered, seeking Gold certification) in Fort Wayne. The event was sponsored by Sweetwater, Trane, and Techcom.
The branch is in the planning stages for its next program which will take place sometime in early November.
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Symposium Planning Advances; Sponsors Sought
The 3rd annual 2009 Indiana Building Green Symposium is being held at the Indianapolis Art Museum on March 12th and March 13th. This event is a collaborative effort by local chapters of several building-allied professional organizations and Ball State University's CAP Indy Center.
The program and format of the Indiana Building Green Symposium will educate professionals, owners and developers in the building, design, construction, and operation fields with information and expert techniques needed to improve building performance and thereby reduce operating costs and minimize first cost. The program seeks diversity in its attendance to include building owners, designers, developers, local policymakers, corporate leaders, educators, and local media persons.
The ever-increasing focus on sustainability and green building has generated significant interest in this event. Sponsors will have the opportunity to be recognized as a regional leader.
With an expected attendance of over 400 people sponsors' organizations can reach their target market, contribute to a first-rate learning experience, create networking events, and provide leadership on creating a sustainable future throughout the region.
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LEED for Homes Update: Workshop Planned for Early 2009
Albert Schinazi, Chapter LEED for Homes advocate, is currently planning a workshop for all interested in the LEED for Homes Rating System. The workshop is tentatively scheduled for January 17, 2009. Details are forthcoming. Those interested may contact Albert via email. |
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Become a Sponsor!!!!
The Indiana Chapter of the US Green Building Council invites you to support the activities of the chapter by becoming a sponsor. As interest in green building gains momentum in Indiana, there has never been a better time to become involved with and support the Chapter.
Through communications, educational programs, networking events, and advocacy work, we hope to educate and create awareness of green and sustainable building strategies. Please consider becoming an annual or program sponsor and joining our effort for a better built environment.
There are several levels of sponsorships that are available. To receive a Sponsorship Registration Form, please contact Angie Resiak, Chapter Coordinator. |
USGBC-IN is supported with a 2008-2009 IOED development grant |
Indy Mayor Announces Citywide Sustainability Initiative
Mayor Greg Ballard of Indianapolis announced Friday a new "bias toward action," when it comes to the greening of the Circle City.
In an afternoon press conference held at the City Market courtyard, backed by several dozen representatives of local green organizations, Ballard stated his intent to make Indianapolis even more competitve among cities by improving its environmental performance.
"It is my sincere belief that environmental sustainability is a key strategy to make sure that Indianapolis continues to be competitive in a changing world," said Mayor Ballard. "And; that our community remains vibrant and healthy for our children and grandchildren."
Ballard also announced the creation of the city's Office of Sustainability to be headed by Karen Haley. The three-person office is charged with coordinating the efforts of the various city agencies while working to implement the sustainability policies of the mayor.
USGBC-IN board members Don Able, Alex Forman and Mark Darrall represented the Chapter in its show of support for SustainIndy.
Burton to Host Green Hearing
USGBC-IN Board Members on Panels
Washington, D.C. - Representative Dan Burton announced that he would be holding a District Hearing on Green Initiatives. He has invited a number of experts in the areas of green building/energy saving initiatives and community leaders to discuss current trends and best practices and how we can work together to promote these areas. The conference is open to the public and is scheduled for Wednesday, October 15 at 3:00 p.m.
The hearing will feature two panel discussions; the first panel, on green building, will include Chapter Chair Mac WIlliams, Co-Chair Bill Brown, HRC Representative John O'Brien, and Jeffrey Ton of Lauth Property Group. The second panel, discussing the legal aspects of green building, will include Mark Grant, partner at Ice Miller, and Dave Sommer, district manager of Trane, Inc.
Burton stated, "With the current energy crisis, I thought Hoosiers needed the chance to talk about potential environmentally-friendly solutions. 'Green' energy and technology has become a buzz word over the past few months, but most people don't know what it is or how to use it. I hope our panels will not only educate people about 'green' energy, but also explain effective ways to use it."
with information provided by Rep. Burton's office.
Delaware County Lands 450 Green Jobs
Brevini USA, a division of the Italian maker of drive systems, has selected Delaware County, just outside Muncie, as the new location of its US headquarters.
Brevini designs and manufactures a broad range of products including slewing drives for wind turbines. These drives are responsible for aligning the generator / rotor with the wind. W
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Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 Features Green Incentives
Bill Brown, AIA, LEED AP
When President Bush signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, which you may know as the 'bailout bill," new incentives went into effect that may advance green buildings and renewable energy that will ultimately help move the economy in a better direction. Thanks to Paul Jones, Jr., a green tax attorney and Co-Founder of INSA at Ice Miller, LLC for providing the basis for my summary. Any editing errors are my own.
I will give you a brief list of the incentives in this post. For the full text of the bill, go to the Thomas Register (H.R. 1424) and download the PDF file.
Highlights:
One-year extension of the production tax credit for energy from wind and a two-year extension of the credit for energy production from other renewable sources new clean energy renewable bonds (CREBs) to finance facilities that generate electricity from wind, closed-loop biomass, open-loop biomass, geothermal, small irrigation, qualified hydropower, landfill gas, marine renewable and trash combustion facilities.
Allows employers to provide employees who commute to work by bicycle limited fringe benefits to offset the costs of such commuting (e.g. bike storage, shower rooms).
Qualified energy conservation bonds to finance state and local government initiatives designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Eight-year extension of the tax credits for residential solar projects, including removal of the $2,000 credit cap on investments in residential solar electric installations and the inclusion of small wind energy (credit cap of $4,000) and geothermal heat pump projects (credit cap of $2,000) as qualifying installations for tax credits.
Long term extension of the 30% investment tax credit for solar energy property and qualified fuel cell property, as well as a 10% tax credit for microturbines.
Five-year extension of the tax deduction for energy-efficient commercial buildings (up to $1.80 per square foot).
One-year extension of the tax credit for the construction of new energy-efficient homes.
One-year extension of the tax credit for qualified energy-efficiency upgrades to existing homes.
An extension through 2010 of the tax credit for the manufacture of energy-efficiency appliances.
Three-year extension of the authority for state and localities to issue tax-exempt bonds for green building and sustainable design projects.
In addition to these Federal incentives, you may have access to other incentives from your utility, your city or your state. You can check that out at this national incentive database.
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Green Jays Communications can help your organization "go green" through effective communications. Find out more at our web site.
Green Jays Communications supports the work of USGBC-IN through its generous in-kind contribution of services. | |
Emerging Green Builders Indiana Underway!
The Emerging Green Builders (EGB) is a USGBC program working to integrate college students and young professionals within 5 years after graduation into the green building movement. EGB sent out a call for nominations earlier this month and is still in need of nominated Directors for the following regions: - Bloomington- South Bend- EvansvilleThe responsibilities of each Director include, but are not limited to: - Oversee the organization of the local branch members of EGB - Plan and Host branch meetings for local members - Act as a liaison between the branch and state entities of EGB Nominations shall include Nominee's name, city, school/employer, email address, phone number, resume and brief letter of interest. Nominations are due via email by 5:00 pm EST, on October 13th, 2008. Individuals may be nominated or self-nominated. Branch Directors will be notified on October 15th, 2008 of their selection and invited to the EGB Director's Retreat in Indianapolis. If you know of someone who may be interested in becoming an EGB Indiana Director, please feel free to forward this call for nominations to them. The newly formed EGB Board of Directors will have a retreat in early November to gather ideas and organize events for the coming year. Please send all nominations and/or question via email. Read on... |
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Source: McGraw-Hill Construction - Midwest Construction
October 2008
As the nonresidential sector has experienced cutbacks in demand for new space, the projections for construction activity for new nonresidential facilities are for a mild decline in 2008 with a more significant downturn in 2009, according to the American Institute of Architects' semi-annual Consensus Construction Forecast.
The outlook is more negative for commercial and industrial buildings, with an especially large drop-off in the office and retail sectors. The continued increase in building material costs in recent years could also adversely affect the construction industry. On the upside, the two largest institutional categories, health care and education, should see a slight increase this year and could help offset some of the losses in the other project categories.
Published on October 2, 2008
CINCINNATI (AP) - Officials want to see more green roofs on building tops in Cincinnati.
The City Council on Wednesday became the first in Ohio with a plan to channel grants and loans to residents and businesses to replace tar and shingles with vegetation.
Supporters of the idea want to see Cincinnati become a leader in green roofs, a European-born movement that has spread to only a few U.S. cities, including Chicago, Milwaukee and Seattle. They say the greenery not only is pleasing aesthetically but reduces stormwater runoff, filters pollutants and cuts heating and cooling costs.
Green roofs are great - they're very energy efficient, they capture and filter stormwater, they reduce the urban heat island effect, and they soften the harsh grays and blacks of our cities (at least from above!). We've written at length in the past about these benefits. If it works so well on roofs, why stop there?
That's exactly what the firm Green Living Technologies thought when they developed their Green Living Walls system, which is based on designs they developed for sloped roofs. They've developed a modular green wall system that can be used to create anything from a small herb wall in your kitchen to a full facade of an office building and anything in between. You can pick from a huge range of plants suitable to your climate, and you can also choose to grow the plants onsite once the wall is installed or have them delivered pre-grown so that your wall is green from day one. "Wood Products and Carbon Protocols" Report
In "Wood Products and Carbon Protocols: Carbon Storage and Low Energy Intensity Should be Considered," the staff at Dovetail Partners look at carbon storage within wood products and the amounts of energy and fossil fuel needed to make wood products. The authors argue that policy analysts developing incentives and protocols to reduce carbon emissions and increase carbon sequestration have ignored these two issues. The report concludes that considerable carbon is stored in wood products, which are also highly energy efficient, two facts that should help guide green building programs and government purchasing.
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BSA LifeStructures supports the work of USGBC-IN through its generous in-kind contribution of services. |
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October
15: Congressional District Hearing on Green Initiatives
Hosted by Congressman Dan Burton
Location: Keep Indianapolis Beautiful
1029 Fletcher Avenue, Indianapolis
3:00 - 5:00
18: Creating A Sustainable Home
Location: IUPUI - Arthur M. Glick JCC
6701 Hoover Road
Room: TBA
1:30pm-4:30pm
Marriott Indianapolis North
Clark Room
3645 River Crossing Parkway
Indianapolis, IN 46240
November
1: Sustainable Business Practices
Saturday, November 1st from 9am-12 noon
Location: Park 100 Learning Center
5980 West 71st St
19-21: Greenbuild Expo 2008
Location: Boston, MA
See Greenbuild Expo 2008 for more information
20: ENERGY STAR NEW HOMES Training Workshop
Thursday, November 20, 2008, 3:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Vincennes University Construction Technology
324 W. Red Skelton Blvd.
REGISTRATION: $20 per person.
Information: (812) 882-5162 or email.
4: USGBC-IN Chapter Membership Gala!
5: LEED Technical Review (Rating system TBD)
6: Environmental Policy Forum
TBD
Please email your event notices to the Editor. Thank you! | |
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From the Editors
To Design with Climate:
LEED 2009 Addresses Local Needs
Could you imagine a world of "one-size-fits-all?" Sure, it works great for baseball caps and slap-on bracelets, but beyond that, broad, overarching solutions typically do not work in the real world.
Take our clothes: as the seasons change, our wardrobe changes. That Hawaiian button-up and cargo shorts might do the trick during the dog days of summer, but nothing short of a Gore-Tex coat and long johns will keep you comfortable in our cold, damp Indiana winters. The reality is that different circumstances call for different solutions.
This principle is no different when it comes to our buildings.
While a high-albedo roofing solution is appropriate for projects in a high density urban center such as Phoenix, a dark roof that promotes solar absorption may be the best solution for a passive solar ski resort in the snow-capped mountains of Taos, New Mexico. Cross-ventilation can be used in lieu of air-conditioning in San Diego, but in Savanna you may very well suffocate without some sort of AC unit. Daylighting a building through sidelighting will do the trick in sunny Las Vegas, but in Portland (either one) designers must heavily consider the brighter zenith of the predominant overcast sky.
Considering the vastly different climatic regions in our country, one could legitimately ask: Is a nationally consistent green building rating system in alignment with regionally responsive designs that adapt to a specific climate and utilize only regional resources?
Enter LEED 2009. The next installment of the USGBC's national green building rating system will afford design teams with opportunities to pursue "Regional Bonus Credits" as a means to, according to USGBC, "...enhance the flexibility of LEED and provide a more effective method of addressing the need for regional adaptation."
Though the details are still sketchy, the USGBC announced that for each version of LEED a series of four Innovation & Design credits would be made available for design responses that exhibit a certain degree of "regionalization." In addition, six other credits would be tagged as potential "regional credits" in a fashion similar to the points currently awarded for exemplary performance.
Though the initial regionalization of LEED is far from perfect (for instance, as currently drafted, a building could still achieve a LEED 2009 Platinum certification in the drought-stricken southwest while only achieving the-albeit increased-water efficiency prerequisite), it may prove to be the most important change from LEED 2.2.
Our historic structures derive much of their character and resiliency from their specific responses to a region's climate and culture. Similarly, regionalism may also serve as the avenue through which the agendas of high design and green design are ultimately merged.
Mark Darrall, LEED AP
Daniel Overbey, LEED AP, Assoc. AIA
USGBC Indiana Communications Co-Chairs |
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