Washington

Washington

Monday LEEDoff: Nationals Open Gates at America’s First Green Ballpark

Mon

Mar

Last week, brand-new $611 million Nationals Park, home to the National League East’s Washington Nationals baseball club, officially received a LEED Silver rating from USGBC, becoming the first baseball stadium in the country to earn the designation. Just a scant few days before Major League Baseball’s 2008 Opening Day, the ballpark earned 33 LEED points for a design by HOK Sport that, among other things, respects the park’s location in Southeast adjacent to D.C.’s Anacostia River. So far, so good for the Nats at their new home; Ryan Zimmerman cracked a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the club a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves in the first regular season game at the ballpark on Sunday night.

Green Commercial Office Space in New York City Currently Ranks Third in U.S.

Tue

Feb

by Stephen Del Percio

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According to a report that was released last month by the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at the University of San Diego, Los Angeles is first among U.S. cities when it comes to LEED - or Energy Star-certified commercial office space. The CoStar Group provided the data upon which the report was based and ranked cities by the total amount of their square footage that has earned either the LEED or Energy Star designation; no breakdown appears to be readily available that segregates the figures according to individual rating system. Los Angeles topped the list with 100 buildings and 26.2 million square feet while Houston checked in at #2 with 46 buildings and 21.1 million square feet. Also in the top five were Washington, D.C. with 61 buildings and 19.8 million square feet, New York City with 11 buildings and 12.3 million square feet, and San Francisco with 30 buildings and 11.9 million square feet.

Twins, HOK, and USGBC Look to Extend LEED to Stadiums

Thu

Jan

by Stephen Del Percio

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I’ve written previously about the new ballpark for the Nationals, which will seek LEED certification, and the proposed stadium for the Twins, whose design team is also exploring LEED options. An article in BD+C suggests that, because HOK Sport is the architect for each of these venues, the firm is working in concert with USGBC to develop a certification option specifically for stadiums and arenas.

Napa Valley Hotel Demonstrates Dangers to Developers Posed by LEED Creep

Tue

Dec

by Stephen Del Percio

4 comments

In the wake of the D.C. Council passing significant LEED legislation last week, there’s been substantial commentary about how positive the bill is for green building at large. While I agree that the legislation is certainly a step in the right direction, a recent post I wrote about the D.C. mandate describes what the BD+C White Paper calls “LEED creep.” The effects of LEED creep may eventually plague private developers across the District, and its potential problems are well-illustrated by a recently completed LEED hotel project out in California that I came across earlier today. The Gaia Napa Valley Hotel in American Canyon, California, is waiting on up to $1 million in hotel occupancy tax revenues from the American Canyon City Council.

D.C. Proposes Sweeping Green Building Bill, Greenbuild Underway, New LEED Option, & GreenSource Magazine

Thu

Nov

by Stephen Del Percio

4 comments

Washington, D.C. appears to be on the verge of becoming the largest city in America to formally adopt LEED into a building code that applies to both public and private sector projects. An article in today’s Washington Post provides details about the legislation, which is contained in a bill pending before the D.C. Council.

Under the bill, within two years all new District-owned projects, including schools, would have to meet the green standards, and in 2009, any building receiving more than 20 percent public financing would have to do the same. By 2012, every new commercial building over 50,000 square feet -- about the size of a medium-size retail store -- would have to meet the guidelines. The rules would also apply to affordable housing.

Last in the NL East but First in Sustainability?

Fri

Oct

by Stephen Del Percio

1 comment

The Washington Nationals' new $611 million ballpark will go green (HOK rendering below) according to this article. The D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission authorized changes to the stadium design, including the $1.2 million it will cost in order to become certified as a "green building." "That was the original design goal, to come up with the very first green sports facility in the country and we think we've done that," D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission spokesman Tony Robinson says. A "green" certification won't cost the city additional money -- the $1.2 million will come from the original $611 million budget.