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Imagine an island where the homes and workplaces are designed to cut energy consumption, protecting our ecosystem and biodiversity. An island where the buildings conserve our natural resources and put as little strain as possible on our local infrastructure.
Are we there yet? Not quite. But by the looks of the projects slated for development, we are making strides.
Those in the know are already familiar with the Washington, D. C.-based U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. (Read our story from March entitled Green Built) This is a system that adopts a whole-building approach to sustainability, meeting criteria in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
Local Success Stories
More local townships are pushing green building codes. Buildings in the United States currently consume 36 percent of the nation’s total energy use and account for 30 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions.
On Long Island, information about LEED certification is now “starting to seep out” to the general public, says Wayne Tomac, a community planner at Sustainable Long Island, a Bethpage-based nonprofit organization promoting community and economic development that protects the environment. And in some instances, developers are pushing to redevelop existing sites with new buildings that meet green standards.
But new development never comes without controversy. Whenever building plans are announced, local residents are sure to voice concerns about the consequential traffic and environmental matters. And that’s understandable. As Tomac notes, those who argue that development “will bring more traffic are not wrong.” But, says Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizen’s Campaign for the Environment in Farmingdale, “Proper sitting and planning should always be the first priority to guide any future development.”
Yet, as Tomac points out, “developers will always build.” Though that actuality may be cause for dismay for some, it also brings the chance to “take control and make it beneficial to us” by advocating for buildings that do not destroy resources, use up excess water and cause additional stress on the environment, he adds.
When it comes to green building, the Town of Babylon is leading the way, though it is also the site of a “monster mall,” namely the Tanger Outlet Center, which is being built in Deer Park, home of the former EDO Corp. Last November, Babylon officials said the town was adopting the first green building code in the Northeast for commercial, industrial and multi-residential buildings, requiring that new structures larger than 4,000 square feet qualify as LEED-certified projects. Though other towns have set forth green initiatives for municipal buildings, Babylon is the first to set these standards for the private sector. According to the town, the new initiative could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.37 million tons—the equivalent of removing 300,000 passenger cars from the road annually. Brookhaven, too, is pushing for similar initiatives.
Upon completion the Tanger Outlet Center in Deer Park is expected to meet LEED certification. Yet residents who signed an online petition see (petitiononline.com/deerpark/petition.html) voiced concerns over pending traffic, rejecting the idea of a need for more shopping malls.
Other redevelopment plans with a green slant can be seen in Glen Cove, where efforts are under way to remediate a Superfund site, as well as at another contaminated site undergoing cleanup in Island Park. Developer Michael Posillico, who is heading up both projects, aims to convert these properties into new LEED-certified mixed-use and residential communities. Other noteworthy green projects include the Suffolk County Police Department’s 4th Precinct in Hauppauge, as well as Adelphi University’s new Centers for Recreation and Sports and Performing Arts.
Is Redevelopment Still Development?
Of course those who oppose development of any sort will not necessarily be pleased with these new endeavors—remediated land or not, LEED-certified or not. But though battles against development will likely rage on, the arguments may cloud some opportunities that could help the region.
Those who advocate LEED certification give high marks to Babylon town supervisor Steve Bellone, who has called green building “critical to our future.” And while the Tanger project did raise concerns about increased traffic to the community, the project’s green building initiative includes the use of a railway system that enables the delivery and removal of construction materials and debris via train, eliminating some of the truck traffic and diesel burning from the roads.
Some redevelopment projects are years in the making. Take the Harbor Isle project, located on the site of a former fuel oil terminal that entered the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program. Posillico hopes that by this fall, the site will be granted a zoning change from commercial to residential so that he can then build 167 housing units constructed of pre-cast, recycled material.
He plans to dedicate “at least 10 percent” of the units for next-generation housing, helping the region’s entry-level workforce to afford living on Long Island. Because the material is erected offsite, construction could be completed in five months, reducing the impact to the community, Posillico says, with the overall project possibly completed by 2010.
Posillico is also a principal at Glen Cove-based Glen Isle Partners, which aims to build a mixed-use community, with housing, offices, restaurants and museums, along with landscaped public parks, plazas, cycling and pedestrian paths, a beach and theater. Glen Isle, a billion-dollar-plus project, will also apply for LEED status and will implement a “gray water application” that reuses water by filtering out sediments and utilizing them for landscaping. But with a building moratorium imposed on the city, approval not yet granted on the developer’s environmental impact study and community concern about health risks associated with Superfund sites, the project is still 10 to 13 years away.
Worth the Cost
Experts say constructing a LEED-certified building can add another 5 or even 15 percent in costs, but that return on investment is often fully realized in 10 or 20 years. Projects achieve certification by earning credits for meeting standards set forth by the USGBC. These projects—including commercial properties, neighborhood developments, schools and government buildings—are awarded certified, silver, gold or platinum certification depending on the number of credits earned.
Actual building design factors into only part of the overall equation, notes Philip Monastero, a partner at Ronkonkoma-based Baldassano Architecture, one of the firms behind the 4th Precinct project in Hauppauge. Existing buildings are expected to address cleaning and maintenance issues, including chemical use, ongoing indoor air quality, recycling programs and more. For instance, Adelphi’s geothermal heating and cooling system is expected to help the university achieve at least silver status. The university also has plans to install water-efficient faucets, shower fixtures, dual-flush toilets and a weather-based irrigation system to reduce water use by more than 30 percent. It will implement a construction waste management program targeting 90 percent diversion of demolition and construction waste from landfills. A recycling pilot program will apply to all new facilities. Low-emission paints, carpets, adhesives and sealants will be used and an indoor-air quality plan incorporated to ensure a healthy environment for building occupants.
Key Learning
William Brady, a project manager at William F. Collins AIA Architects in Setauket, says Long Islanders still “need to be educated” about the benefits of green building to overcome doubts about investing in more expensive up-front costs, despite the savings realized later on.
Long Island Power Authority, for instance, offers financial assistance for projects seeking LEED certification through its Clean Energy Initiative (details at www.lipower.org). LEED buildings also qualify for rebates (for specifics see www.usgbc.org). In addition, local governments are giving tax incentives and expedited review for those who plan to build green buildings, says Ron Vitori, who chairs the Long Island chapter of the USGBC. But there’s more to this than dollars, points out William Brady “It’s about conserving and doing what is right for buildings and communities.
