One of the nation's largest developments, Harbor Point, was recently acknowledged as one of the most progressive by achieving LEED-ND Gold certification. This special recognition was accorded because of the 80-acre project's environmentally sound design, planning and construction.
Harbor Point is actually a series of neighborhoods, each centered on a prominent park. All of the tree-lined streets are designed to be pedestrian-friendly with wide sidewalks, ground-floor retail, accessible building entrances and bike lanes. The buildings are designed to reduce water use, save energy, incorporate structured parking and employ green construction practices.
Each detail, down to the direction the building faces, has been designed with energy conservation in mind. High r-value materials will retain heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. Energy-efficient HVAC systems are being installed in all of the buildings.
Harbor Point is recycling and salvaging over 90% of the demolition debris created on site and rehabilitating nearly 300,000 s/f of historic buildings. This saves tens of thousands of tons of material from landfills, while reducing the amount of new construction material required.
Beyond the buildings, Harbor Point is ensuring that its streets are energy efficient with LED traffic lights, providing a 15% reduction in energy use. In addition, streetlights are lower to the ground and more frequent, requiring less energy and reducing light pollution.
"All of us working on this development feel that it defines 'Green and Smart Growth'," said BLT president and CEO, Carl Kuehner, III, "and we are pleased and honored to have received this important recognition from the U.S. Green Building Council.