LEED-ND

Designed by Manhattan-based Magnusson Architecture and Planning, Melrose Commons is one of only six projects in the state of New York that is participating in USGBC’s LEED for Neighborhood Development (”LEED-ND”) Pilot Program. The 2000-unit, mixed-use and income development will set aside 50 percent of available units for households at or below 60 percent of HUD income limits. The city is currently soliciting developers for three individual parcels on East 162nd and East 163rd Streets between Courtlandt and Melrose Avenues in the South Bronx, and individual buildings will be required to comply with both NYSERDA’s Multifamily Performance Program and the Enterprise Green Communities rating criteria.

The first mixed-use buildings in an urban location in the state of New Jersey to pursue a LEED rating are set to officially open next week in Newark. The Washington Street Townhomes, which are awaiting a formal LEED Gold rating from USGBC, will consist of six 3800-square-foot buildings, each featuring two residential units with commercial space on the first floor. The development is being spearheaded by the Lincoln Coast Cultural District, a community development corporation which is aiming to develop a comprehensive arts and cultural district in Newark’s Lincoln Park. The district will ultimately boast 11 LEED-certified buildings, as well as seek a LEED for Neighborhood Development (”LEED-ND”) rating.

Tishman Speyer’s loss is now the Related Companies’ gain. The MTA announced today that it has selected Related and Goldman Sachs to develop Hudson Yards into a $1 billion mixed-use neighborhood that will revolve around a central nine-acre grand plaza similar in concept to Tishman’s proposed “New York Steps.” Related will seek LEED Gold for the project (pursuant to the MTA’s RFP), though no specific details are available regarding whether that rating will be for individual towers or a broader LEED-ND application for the entire project.

This month’s Gotham Gazette features a fascinating article by Tom Angotti that explores the new LEED for Neighborhood Development standard (”LEED-ND”). In addition to highlighting the relatively low number of LEED-certified buildings in New York City (of the fifteen certified buildings within the five boroughs, ten are in Manhattan, and three of these belong to public agencies), Angotti explores the relationship between individual projects and the neighborhoods around them. (Full disclosure: Dr. Angotti was one of my favorite grad school planning professors).

A planned residential community isn’t necessarily the first place you might look to try and find the intersection of design excellence and sustainability, but a new development in suburban Connecticut might help to change your tune. When it’s complete, Windermere on the Lake will offer twenty-four luxury homes across seventy-five acres in North Stamford. Developed [...]

Allison and I enjoyed walking through Portland’s beautiful Pearl District on our last afternoon in the City of Roses before we flew back east. We were thrilled (or at least I was thrilled) to check out The Encore, a fifteen-story, 177-unit condominium project, designed by Portland-based BOORA Architects, that’s under construction between 9th and 10th [...]

Columbia announced today that its seventeen acre Manhattanville expansion project, designed by Renzo Piano and SOM, has been accepted into the LEED for Neighborhood Development (“LEED-ND”) Pilot Program. (image of the project site looking west from Broadway along 125th Street via Columbia). Interestingly, the news comes immediately in advance of the start of the City’s [...]

Thanks to a much-appreciated tip, I’d like to point out a proposed mixed-used development in Bozeman, Montana aiming to become the nation’s first project to be certified under the LEED for Neighborhood Development (“LEED-ND”) Pilot Program. As my tipster points out, it’s extremely encouraging to see green design principles disseminating across the country to places [...]