JM Coull's CIS project earns LEED Silver certification

According to design-builder JM Coull, the new United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (CIS) facility has achieved Silver level certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. The project faced some hurdles on the road to certification, including the discovery—during construction—of undocumented sewer and water lines running through the center of the construction site. The challenges, coupled with the team's achievements in the area of sustainable design and construction, compelled the local chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) to recognize the project with its highest Excellence in Construction Award, as well as a Green Award. JM Coull teamed with Gorman Richardson Architects of Hopkinton to design and build the 62,000 s/f facility, which houses offices, specialty areas for naturalization services, and an underground parking garage below the building. The demolition of the former Lincoln Foods building to make way for the new facility created a considerable amount of construction debris, over 98% of which was recycled or reused. A portion of these same materials were used in the construction of the new CIS facility, while timbers, planks and bricks were cleaned and sold for use in other projects. In the end, 13,000 tons of materials were diverted from landfills. LEED, a program of the U.S. Green Building Council, is a benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings and has become the green-building-industry standard for rating buildings. A Silver-level rating is in keeping with standards set for government buildings. JM Coull is a design-build and construction management firm specializing in facilities for advanced technology, life sciences, education, health care and manufacturing