In Philadelphia, a Former Navy Yard Wins on Sustainability

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By Jon Hurdle, The New York Times. 

Excerpt: ...Philadelphia’s Navy Yard ...evolving further to become a pioneer for sustainable development with energy-efficient buildings, innovative storm-water management, construction that’s designed to withstand future sea-level rise and green spaces that provide an inviting environment for the campus’s approximately 15,000 employees. ...Those efforts have just been recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council which gave a portion of the Navy Yard a gold certification in its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program for Neighborhood Development, known as LEED-ND. The certification, which covers 39 existing and 38 planned buildings over 295 of the site’s 1,200 acres, makes the project the biggest of its kind in the United States and the first in Philadelphia. ...To qualify for LEED-ND, properties must meet Green Building Council standards for building construction and operation and provide evidence that energy, water and materials are being used more efficiently than in conventional building. The council also credits projects that use previously developed sites and avoid urban sprawl by being located near existing town centers. In addition, the awards are given to compact, walkable, mixed-use communities that have good access to public transit.. 

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