FORT LEE, Va. (Jan. 10, 2013) -- Another Fort Lee facility has earned a coveted gold rating through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.
The new 508th Transportation Company building along C Avenue garnered the award for its design features and functions that achieved high LEED scores for energy savings, water efficiency, stewardship of resources and more.
The $4.2 million building was completed in July 2012 and features energy-efficient lighting, low-flow water and other energy-saving appliances. The contractor also worked throughout every stage of the design and construction process to recycle as much waste as possible and to use resources from distributors closer to Fort Lee to reduce the overall carbon footprint the project made on the environment.
According to the U.S. Green Building Council website (www.usgbc.org), LEED is an internationally recognized certification system that provides third-party verification of building and/or community design and construction strategies that emphasize environmental quality, stewardship of resources and sensitivity to the impact of construction. Developed by the USGBC, LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. LEED award levels include certified, silver, gold and platinum.
While LEED silver certification is now the standard for all Army construction projects, some contractors will work toward achieving higher levels of environmental stewardship and accompanying LEED certification ratings.
The contractor for the company facility project, Leebcor Services LLC, is a service-connected, disabled veteran-owned small business based in Williamsburg. They provide a full range of construction services to the federal government, including design build, general construction and utilities and site work.
Leebcor Services LLC is also responsible for another LEED Gold certified building on the installation -- the Garrison Dining Facility along B Avenue.
A special presentation was made Dec. 20 to recognize the contractors for their achievement.
During the ceremony, Gregory Williams, Directorate of Public Works director, said Fort Lee has four buildings that have received the LEED Gold certification. Those buildings are the Air Force/Navy dining facility, the Petroleum and Water Department barracks, the 217th Military Police Detachment company building and now the 508th Trans. Co. facility. These certifications, along with the silver standard all Army construction requires, benefit the Army long term.
"A LEED certification helps the Army save money and helps keep the Army environmentally friendly," said Williams.
Brig. Gen. Steven Farmen, Chief of the Transportation Corps, said LEED is all about taking it a step further for the Army.
"It's not just serving our country, but … also taking care of our planet," he said. "As am Army, we're obligated to figure out how to come up with solutions to serve the greater good, along with protecting our freedoms and the nation."
He also issued a challenge to the members of the 508th.
"You inherit the facility, and we're obliged to live up to what it stands for," Farmen said. "We need to live what LEED embodies in terms of (smaller) footprints and low energy usage. Now that we own the facility, the people in it have to do the same. We have to be good at recycling and conserving energy."
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