How Green are the Town of Normal's Green Building Plans?

The Town of Normal is planning to do a huge renovation of their downtown area within the next few years. It remains to be seen if the Town of Normal will support the thriving independent businesses in the area through giving them a place to reside after the renovation. It would be a shame if they kicked out the local businesses for larger chains.

However, the plans for the renovation have a significant hope for improving the health and environment of the downtown area. The plans for all the buildings will be to fit the standards of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

Steven Westerdahl, head of community development and downtown renewal, states, "These plans are to show that we are taking a leadership role in the community. It demonstrates to other building contractors that these plans benefit the builders and the community."

So how exactly do you build under LEED standards? LEED is a council that has developed a rating system that gives guidelines for the construction of buildings so the buildings are environmentally sustainable.

Their rating system has guidelines for buildings to be built at sustainable sites, to have water efficiency, efficient energy, indoor environmental quality, and responsible material and resources used to construct the building. They have a rating system for each part of the building process that involves these specific categories. Across the country, they have approximately 450 buildings that are LEED certified.

For instance, in the sustainable site section of the evaluation, the building must not be developed within 100 feet of a wetland. A building will get credits for each section of the evaluation that it passes. When a building is done being evaluated it will get a rating. The ratings are platinum, gold, silver, and certified. The Town of Normal is aiming for having every building being at certification level of LEED's evaluation.

This is a step in the right direction for the town of Normal. There are many benefits for constructing buildings under the LEED certification. According to the LEED website, "In the United States, buildings account for 36% of total energy use, 65% of electricity consumption, 30% of greenhouse gas emissions, 30% of raw materials use, 30% of waste output accounting for 136 million tons annually, and12% of potable water consumption."

Following the LEED certification can help reduce these types of problems when constructing and using building facilities. The environmental benefits range from improving air and water quality to enhancing and protecting ecosystems and biodiversity.

Westerdahl states, "The up front costs are more under this plan, but the costs are made up in the long term." This is possible because economically, these buildings will reduce operating costs, enhance asset value and profits, improve employee productivity and satisfaction, and optimize life-cycle economic performance.

Also, there are health and communities benefits to the certification such as improving air, thermal, and acoustic environments, enhancing occupant comfort and health, minimizing strain on local infrastructure, and contributing to an overall quality of life.

The Town of Normal has taken a step in the right direction when choosing to renovate their downtown area with environmental and health concerns in mind.

However, it would be shameful if they got rid of the independent businesses and brought in larger corporate businesses. We have should keep an eye out in the upcoming years to make sure that they stick with the LEED certification process, along with not kicking out local businesses.