Monday LEEDoff: BCUE Unveils Green Gowanus HQ

On Saturday, the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment held the grand opening of its new headquarters between Second and Third Avenues at 168 Seventh Street in Gowanus. The project is seeking Gold under USGBC's LEED for Commercial Interiors rating system and consists of 18,000 square feet across two floors at was once a doll factory. For the past thirty years, BCUE has been creating programs for over 300 New York City public schools relating to sustainable urban environmental practices. It also organizes the annual Green Brooklyn Conference and earlier this year unveiled the Sustainable Business Network in cooperation with the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies. The organization had previously been operating out of Prospect Park's Picnic and Tennis Houses.

Green features at BCUE's new space include reclaimed wood flooring, efficient HVAC systems, zoned lighting, dual flush toilets and motion sensor faucets, bicycle storage, and photovoltaics that will offset an undetermined amount of electrical consumption. Other tenants at 168 Seventh Street include the Brooklyn Artists Gym and a Mac Support Store. Once its rating becomes official, the project will become Brooklyn's first LEED-CI-certified space; check out gbNYC’s LEED-CI archive for details about the four firms whose offices in Manhattan that have already received official certification from USGBC- Gensler, Haworth, Cook + Fox, and Dagher Engineering. Sandi Franklin, executive director, told the Brooklyn Eagle that the grand opening was "a great opportunity to re-introduce ourselves to the community. We're working hard to become a one-stop shop for a public increasingly eager for information about sustainable practices."

• Green Home for Brooklyn's Premier Environmental Group (Eagle)

• BCUE Seeks Borough's First LEED-CI Rating (gbNYC)