Monday LEEDoff: Enable, Inc. HQ is First Certified Building in Syracuse

Enable, Inc. is a non-profit organization that provides assessment, training, and therapy to over 2,000 disabled children and adults and their families each year. Last week, Enable officially received a LEED Certified rating for its new 30,000-square-foot headquarters building at 1603 Court Street in Syracuse, New York- the first project of any kind in the city to formally receive a LEED rating from USGBC. The $5 million facility was designed by Syracuse-based Schopfer Architects LLP, built by Northeast Construction Services, Inc., and opened up in February of 2006. It features a pool, wellness center, and various meeting centers. According to Enable’s executive director Sara Wall-Bollinger, the organization began assembling the paperwork necessary for LEED certification shortly after opening its doors, and formally made its application to USGBC over a year later in June of 2007. Wall-Bollinger observed no construction premium for the building’s green design features, which include LEED-standards such as low-VOC carpeting, adhesives, and sealants, extensive daylighting, a reflective white roof, and sustainable landscaping. 100 of Enable’s employees will call the new headquarters home; the organization’s existing adjacent 15,000-square-foot facility will also remain in operation. Wall-Bollinger also notes that the same set of boilers serve both structures and that “there is a large amount of energy savings” in the new building, though she was unable to quantify a figure. Enable was founded in 1948 and moved to its current Court Street location back in 1975.

• Enable Obtains LEED Rating (Central Business Journal)

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