MNN - Mother Nature Network

As you head into your weekend, catch up on the latest news in the green building industry.

 

The World Bank’s building at 1225 Connecticut Ave NW in Washington, D.C is now for sale. The building is owned by Brookfield Properties Corp. and in 2009 it was the first LEED Platinum certified redeveloped office building on the East Coast. Now, the 240,811 square-foot green building is for sale. Brookfield spent $32 million on the building’s green retrofit and according to the Washington Business Journal, the building could sell for more than $220 million. If you’re interested in owning a LEED first, now’s your chance.

 

The U.S. Green Building Council has expanded its Building Performance Partnership (BPP) program to include all currently LEED-certified commercial and residential projects. These projects must be whole-building projects, in other words the entire building must be LEED certified and not a specific space within the building (as can happen with LEED for Commercial Interiors projects).

 

This program is helping the USGBC create a green building performance database which will help guide the organization’s LEED program as well as create a standardized performance metric and analytics system. The USGBC began to mandate actual performance data with the introduction of LEED v3 in 2009. For more information, read the USGBC press release (PDF).

 

Although the Punahou School’s Omidyar K-1 Neighborhood facility is awaiting final word from the USGBC on its LEED certification, the building is expected to earn a Platinum rating. This fall, dozens of lucky kindergarten and first-grade students in Honolulu will get to go to school in a state of the art eco-friendly building.

 

Earning a LEED Platinum rating is no easy feat and so several construction and design features were used in order to earn enough points for the ultimate LEED certification. The facility uses solar panels to create onsite clean energy, post-consumer recycled content is used in the classrooms, and there is even a windmill on site. The kids at this school won’t just be learning the basics of reading, writing, and math but they will also get a great environmental education at the same time.

 

Read more about the school – Omidyar K-1 Neighborhood.