New Buildings Honored with Gold LEED Status
From left: Ronald G. Rios, Middlesex County Freeholder director; Dorothy K. Power, chairman of the College’s Board of Trustees; College President Joann La Perla-Morales; and State Senator Samuel Thompson.
Middlesex County College’s two newest buildings, South Hall and West Hall, have earned gold
LEED® ratings from the United States Green Building Council, signifying their environmental attributes. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally recognized mark of excellence that provides building owners with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.
The achievement was recognized at a ceremony Oct. 27 in the atrium of South Hall. MCC is the only community college in New Jersey with two Gold buildings.
“The LEED program encourages us to design buildings that have a low impact on the environment with optimal energy efficiency,” said Donald R. Drost, executive director of facilities management at MCC. “It validates our efforts. MCC was able to expand the facilities on campus for our students, while minimizing the impact on the environment.”
The LEED report on the projects looked at seven areas: sustainability sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, regional priority, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation.
Ronald G. Rios, Middlesex County freeholder director, said the buildings are the most recent examples of environmental efforts in the county, along with best-in-state recycling programs, two solar panel farms, the County’s fleet of hybrid vehicles and its open space preservation program, which now includes over 8,000 acres of pristine lands saved from commercial development.
“The College has done so much for our students, continually advancing the educational opportunities available while ensuring they have state-of-the-art facilities in which to learn,” he said. “My freeholder colleagues and I are proud of the part we have had in this continual growth and success. It is no surprise that when constructing South and West Halls, the College embraced environmentally friendly building techniques and systems.”
College President Joann La Perla-Morales praised the County freeholders, the College Board of Trustees, and the State of New Jersey with supporting both projects, as well as the architects, DMR for West Hall and L.R. Kimball for South Hall.
“We are proud that as we provide state-of-the-art facilities for our students and faculty, that we have been recognized for doing so with regard and respect for our environment,” she said. “This year our faculty have developed a new degree in Sustainability Science and as soon as we receive state approval, faculty and students will be engaged in their scientific work here in this building. I thank each of you for assuring that Middlesex County College is positioned to meet the educational needs of our community. You are all partners in our success.”
Dorothy K. Power, chairman of the College’s Board of Trustees, highlighted the work of the administration and facilities staff, led by Mr. Drost.
“Don Drost was persistent in demanding and acquiring the best environmentally sound facilities,” she said. “This is another example of a model building.”
These are MCC’s second and third buildings to receive a LEED rating; Crabiel Hall, which opened in 2011, was awarded a Silver rank.
Mr. Drost said LEED designation is awarded on a point system. South Hall received points for a number of its features. The College sits on land that had been the Raritan Arsenal, and South Hall is where two Arsenal buildings stood: South I and South II, so construction did not require clearing any natural land. It is close to public transportation, shower facilities are nearby in the Physical Education Center for bicyclists, and the surrounding suburban environment provided retail services within walking distance.
Mr. Drost said West Hall received points for being close to public transportation and within walking distance of retail services. A landscaped storm water basin was constructed to retain storm water from the parking lot. Points were also gathered for water and energy efficiency due to the building’s plumbing and HVAC design.
Both buildings were completed under budget. South Hall was completed ahead of schedule and West Hall was on schedule.