City Becomes First in US to Pledge Platinum

GREENSBURG, KS-Though green building techniques started their popularity on the coasts, this Midwest town has become the first to pledge that all government buildings will be built according to LEED Platinum, the highest green building standard issued by the US Green Building Council. The city council passed a resolution that all city buildings more than 4,000 sf will be certified Platinum and be required to reduce energy use by 42% over current building code requirements. Other commercial developers in the town are following suit.

The move was made partly because the entire town had to be rebuilt anyway. A two-mile-wide tornado wiped out just about every structure on May 4. Federal and state agencies are providing about 85% of the rebuilding funds. “We have to make up the gap,” says Dan Wallach, executive director of Greensburg GreenTown, a public-private partnership dedicated to help rebuild the city. “It makes sense to rebuild with sustainable principals. The value of green buildings are greater, and they have a long-term durability.”

He says many developers have pledged to follow the city’s lead, including the local John Deere tractor dealership, and a General Motors dealership. Dillons executives have proposed green features for a new store here, to serve as a model for sustainable design for the parent company, Kroger, Wallach says. A new Main Street Small Business Incubator will also be built to green standards, along with the multifamily project Prairie Point, going for LEED Gold certification, and another mixed-use, multifamily development by the Commercial Group. “We’ve got about a dozen buildings right now going green,” Wallach says.