Paseo Verde Development Awarded Project of the Year
PHILADELPHIA — The 2015 Project of the Year Award from the U.S. Green Building Council for the mixed-use Paseo Verde development near Temple University in Philadelphia is more than just an award. Mark MaGrann, CEO of MaGrann Associates, an energy-consulting firm based in Mount Laurel, N.J., said he hopes the award will inspire others in the city to build more sustainably, according to Philly.com. The 120-unit mixed-use project includes apartment units as well as a ground-floor medical center, and houses a pharmacy and several community organizations.
The $48 million facility, which was completed in 2013, sought innovate ways to create solutions to better the environment and the community, according to MaGrann. “Philadelphia will never be a first-class city if we ignore infrastructure,” MaGrann said. The future of affordable housing and market-rate both depend on new buildings to be at least some level of green.
Paseo Verde was designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification, which required a high degree of collaboration on the part of all key stakeholders. “You can say you are green until you are blue in the face, but without independent, third-party documentation to a recognized standard, you aren’t,” MaGrann told Philly.com. Being able to bring together all parties working on the project was a process, but was also necessary, according to MaGrann. The building had to focus on five green design categories — including sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality — to achieve LEED Platinum according to the U.S. Green Building Council.
The team focused heavily on the details, according to Jonathan E. Jensen, sustainability director at MaGrann Associates. The design and construction team installed an alternative insulation package at Paseo Verde to provide comfort for the tenants as well as reduce outside noise. The development is also very transit-oriented, offering green transportation alternatives. The building is right next to a busy regional rail line, but when the train goes by, users will not even know it’s there because of the building’s superior insulation, according to Jensen.
A ventilation system monitors the air, providing the correct amount of airflow to the building, and lighting is modern and efficient. The building also features two parallel systems that handle storm water, according to Philly.com. The upper blue roofs detain the water and slowly release it to an underground infiltration feature, which allows the water to go back into the earth. The green roofs capture the rainwater release is slowly back into the storm system.
The building will provide a mixed-use development that includes affordable apartments with energy saving features, allowing for an even more affordable living area. MaGrann Associates hope that with the addition of this green building, the rest of the city will follow suit and begin to create environmentally friendly facilities.