?Green? projects crop up on landscape

Dozens of workers have been moving dirt, pouring concrete and placing steel beams for the new Medical Center of the Rockies, located near the junction of Interstate 25 and U.S. Highway 34.
But as far as Dave Cottle is concerned, 12 of those workers are carrying the weight of what he considers the building?s foundation.
Cottle, executive project manager for Poudre Valley Hospital/Medical Center of the Rockies, and his team of 12 are responsible for making sure the new cardiac and trauma center meets all the requirements for the U.S. Green Building Council?s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, or LEED.
It would be among a few buildings in Northern Colorado and the second hospital in the United States to be certified in the program. The point of LEED is to grade the quality of a building based on a number of factors, including building design, construction materials, water efficiency, energy usage and the quality of the indoor environment.
LEED is about 10 years old, but those in the building industry have jumped on board only in the past few years, said Steve Steinbicker a principal with Architecture West LLC in Fort Collins. Steinbicker said be believes in the program because of its focus on constructing the best possible buildings that don?t use as many natural resources, such as water and energy.
?We cannot afford to do business like we have in the past,? Steinbicker said. ?We in the building industry are trying to fine-tune the way we do things.?
So far, the program has been more popular among public entities ? such as schools, libraries and government agencies ? than private companies.
?The architect has a big persuasion, but it has to be the mindset of both the developers and owners if it?s going to happen,? said Todd Parker, chief estimator and a LEED-certified professional for Drahota Inc, a Fort Collins-based commercial builder.
Pioneer Charter School and Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins have both applied for LEED certification, as well as a new city of Fort Collins maintenance facility.
Plans are for the United Way of Larimer County?s $2.3 million day services center to also have a silver LEED certification. Architecture West and Loveland-based Alliance Construction Solutions are working on the building design. Alliance and Architecture West also worked together on Pioneer Charter School.
?LEED is becoming a huge piece of the construction industry,? said Debra Amsden, director of business development for Alliance. ?It?s an integral part of our corporate philosophy as a company.?
The U.S. Green Building Committee?s Web site lists dozens of projects in the United States that have achieved the program?s certification. Those in Colorado include Boulder Community Foothills Hospital, North Boulder Recreation Center, a U.S. Department of Transportation Building in Lakewood, three buildings at the Denver Technological Center, Amerimar Realty Company of Colorado?s Denver Place and the Sundeck Restaurant at Aspen Ski Area.
Critics of the program, most of them private owners, say it costs too much money to meet all the requirements. That?s one reason Cottle of the Medical Center of the Rockies doesn?t call the program a trend.
The requirements increase the cost of a project by an estimated 3 percent to 5 percent. For the $240 million Medical Center of the Rockies, scheduled to open in 2007, that adds up to a lot of money.
The Medical Center of the Rockies’ heating, ventilation and air-conditioning will be built for maximum energy efficiency. The facility will also rely on wind power for a portion of its energy.
Construction materials for the new hospital have at least 20 percent recycled content. Fifty percent of the materials, including stone, bricks and concrete, are being harvested locally.
Steinbicker said it?s harder to convince private owners, most of whom want to construct buildings as cheaply as possible and rent them out quickly, that the energy savings are worth it for them, their renters and the environment.
?LEED is becoming more common, but I think private owners will be the last to jump on board,? he said.
It also takes a lot of work to make sure a building is on track to get certified. Cottle and his team, including representatives from the general contracting team ? J.E. Dunn Construction of Denver and The Neenan Co. of Fort Collins ? and subcontractors involved in the project, are working together to meet all the standards.
Cottle, who has worked for Poudre Valley Health System for 13 years, said he brought LEED before the hospital board when it decided to build Medical Center of the Rockies. He said he suggested it, in part, because of all the construction waste he has seen through his involvement in other projects.
?A lot of people are still asking us why we?re doing this,? he said. ?It?s really hard for big projects like this. But it?s a goal all of us have bought into because we believe it?s the right thing to do.?

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