The urban sanctuary at Hilltop Arboretum, a detached part of the University’s campus, is in the middle of fundraising for its proposed Enclosed Educational Facility. But when the construction is finished, Hilltop’s board of governors will then seek LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, certification — a status the University has yet to see on its campus.Cathy Coates, president of Hilltop’s board of governors, said the LEED certification is meant to reflect the arboretum’s commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility.”The new building will be the first LEED [certified] building for LSU,” Coates said. The fundraising is expected to be finished in 2009, but a completion date for construction has not been set.Funding for the facility is being received through Hilltop’s fundraising efforts and private donations. Coates said their goal is to reach $1.8 million, but they are $800,000 shy.The planning and construction involved with LEED certification increased Hilltop’s fundraising goal, and this characteristic price difference in environmentally responsible building efforts is part of the reason the University hasn’t seen other LEED certified buildings on the main campus.Though some other Southeastern Conference schools refrained from seeking LEED certification because of the additional costs, the University of Florida leads the bunch. Florida, which has made LEED a campus-wide initiative, houses 10 LEED certified buildings, more than any other SEC school.Chuck Wilson, vice provost for Space and Facility Management, said because campus buildings are usually funded through the state, the extra costs for meeting LEED requirements aren’t supported in local government spending.”It’s not because we don’t want to,” Wilson said. “The state hasn’t elected to go the extra mile to meet the LEED certification. It does cost more.”Brad Silva, office of campus planning manager, helps prepare future design for LSU but is also a LEED Accredited Professional — knowledgeable experts in the field of integrated design and the LEED certification implementation.Silva said the reason most universities don’t adopt the LEED certification as its building standards is largely because of the percentage difference in paying for additional construction approaches to meet the LEED standards.”The premium for LEED certification can change the construction cost by about 1 to 15 percent,” Silva said. “So, if you have a $10 million project, it could cost up to an additional $1.5 million to meet LEED requirements.”He said the trade off of the increased premium is the improved efficiency of a LEED certified building, which makes it valuable in extending the life of the building.”Typical payoff for a LEED building is seven to eight years,” Silva said.”From then on the building is saving you money because the operating costs are low.”LEED, a creation of the U.S. Green Building Council, is a rating system in which a site has the potential to reach up to 69 points of sustainable, efficient and innovative design criteria. According to the USGBC Web site, only 26 credits are needed to reach LEED certification.The minimum requirements include meeting specific prerequisites, such as recycling, pollution prevention and minimum energy usage. Additional credits are then earned for every other LEED option the building includes in its design and construction.According to Silva, the frame of mind at the University is if “LEED is good design then we should be doing it anyway.”
 
 
 
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