Maryland's green building group goes suburban
Maryland's green building gurus have gone suburban. The state chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council has moved its headquarters from a tiny office in downtown Baltimore to more spacious, ultra-green digs in Hunt Valley.
A gaggle of green building enthusiasts and Baltimore County officials gathered yesterday at the entrance to Schilling Green to cut a green ribbon celebrating the council's move into what long ago had been a spice warehouse. It's been transformed into one of the first office buildings in the Baltimore area to achieve a platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, rating - the highest level given by the national green building council.
The three-story glass and brick palace boasts a green roof over the entrance, solar panels on top, energy-saving glass and insulation and waterless urinals, among other things. Plus, there are a bunch of parking spaces near the entrance reserved for hybrid vehicles.
Why move from the city? And what signal does that send to Baltimore's fledgling green building initiative?
"We wanted a space that was larger where we could do events, including educational programs," Stuart Kaplow, chair of the Maryland chapter and a local real estate attorney, explained in an email.
They also wanted to be in a LEED-certified building. While there are 500 of them in the state, Kaplow said, there are very few with offices for rent in the Baltimore area. So when the Maryland chapter's leadership learned that Merritt Properties was aiming for platinum LEED certification on an overhaul of one of its old 1970s era office buildings in Hunt Valley, they jumped at it.
For all its green-ness, the building can easily be missed in the soul-less suburban office park in which it's located. Scott Horst, at right, a senior vice president with the U.S. Green Building Council, couldn't help pointing out the nondescript buildings nearby and a landscape that was more asphalt than grass or trees. County Executive Jim Smith, on hand to join in the festivities, defended the Hunt Valley development surrounding Schilling Green, noting that in the 1970s, "we just didn't have your vision and the understanding we needed."
But it is a redevelopment. And it's accessible by transit, three-tenths of a mile from a light-rail stop (though the streetscape might be more pedestrian friendly). Mary Pulcinella, the green building chapter's programs director, said she hoped to commute there from her Hampden home by light rail and possible bike. That certainly helps - I've seen too many LEED certified buildings in the boonies that are unreachable on foot or by bus or rail.
With its move, Kaplow said the green building chapter's 22-member board intended no slight to Baltimore city, which last year adopted a mandatory green-building law, though has yet to publish the standards needed to carry out the law. But board members did discuss making their move a statement about their interest in Baltimore County, which offers property tax incentives for green commercial buildings.
Kaplow called Baltimore County "a place that is not always friendly to green," noting that the County Council shelved a vote Monday night that would have allowed construction of wind turbines there. "We would like to work with folks in the county," he added.
Maybe they can work with Baltimore County and others on reducing the storm-water pollution from "green" buildings. I asked Josh Asbury, Merritt's project manager, what the company had done to curb runoff from its parking lot, and he said they'd just given it a new coat of asphalt. Is this what county officials meant when they complained last winter that the state's new storm-water pollution control regulations needed to be made more flexible to allow redevelopment?
(Photos courtesy Baltlimore County)
Comments
Hunt Valley is close to my home, so I am pleased.
Posted by: Michelle Brown | August 4, 2010 6:34 AM
Green Fail. let us count the ways:
New building instead of reuse of an old building = waste.
Contribution to continued sprawl.
Nice big impervious parking lot.
TW: Actuallly, Bryan, as the post notes, it is a redevelopment of a '70s era office building, on a spot where once there had been a warehouse. Merritt stripped the building down to its core structure, then rebuilt from there..
Posted by: bryanintowson | August 4, 2010 8:38 AM
The ribbon cutting was a great event and Merritt should be very proud of their beautiful building...I very much enjoyed hearing Scot Horst during the hour before the ceremony. It was great to learn about the P3 program that USGBC National is piloting to help existing buildings gain some recognition for incremental improvement...I look forward to it's release!
Posted by: Eileen Straughan | August 4, 2010 9:21 AM
Kudos to Merritt Properties for having the vision to complete this building in the face of such a challenging real estate market!
Posted by: Matt K. | August 4, 2010 9:26 AM
Merritt built a beautiful building, anyone would be proud to have their offices there. I appreciate the insightful comments from the speakers regarding the future of building design. Not only is green building design good for the environment, but it is also more functional, attractive and a healthier place to be.
Posted by: Marc Shaener | August 4, 2010 12:22 PM
I attended the celebration and I had an opportunity thereafter to tour the Schilling Green space. It is light-filled, comfortable and innovative. I was delighted to see a platinum green building where an inefficient 70's warehouse once stood. I was also energized by the presence of County Executive Smith and his encouraging words. He congratulated USGBC Maryland for not just talking the talk, but for "walking the walk." He also clearly understood the increased value of a green buildings and the positive impact they have on its occupants' health and productivity. Kudos to the USGBC Maryland and to the County Executive!
Posted by: Claire Buchner | August 4, 2010 12:35 PM
It was a pleaser to meet Scott Horst at the ribbon cutting; I use a quote of his daily… “Building Green should just be the way building is done.”
And its great to see that Merritt Properties is taking the initiative, and has realized that the it makes both environmenmtal and economic sence to build green.
Posted by: Jay Schaefer, Roy Kirby & Sons | August 4, 2010 2:38 PM
Not all development or redevelopment in the suburbs is bad. The telling thing about this location is its access to transit. Some employees at least will be making a commute in a direction counter to peak flow, which is in towards the City, therefore taking advantage of some underutilized capacity.
As for the throw away comment about stormwater regulations, it is clear that the building was renovated and upgraded. It appears that the larger site was not. Had it been more might have been done to reduce stormwater. The regs still fail to encourage redevelopment by, thus continuing to make greenfields development easier and more attractive to the average builder.
Posted by: Jim Noonan | August 6, 2010 7:32 AM
The article states: "Plus, there are a bunch of parking spaces near the entrance reserved for hybrid vehicles."
I drive a clean diesel fueled with biodiesel which runs cleaner than a gasoline hybrid. Where's my parking place?
TW: With the rest of us fossil dinosaurs, unless or until you can convince the LEED folks to recognize your contribution to the planet.
Posted by: pgp | August 6, 2010 7:20 PM