Baltimore Regional Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council Recognizes Environmentally Noteworthy Buildings and Individuals.

During its 3rd Annual Awards Celebration, the Baltimore Regional Chapter USGBC presented awards to local green buildings and to individuals and organizations for their leadership efforts to forward sustainability in the Baltimore Metropolitan Region.
The awards for Buildings went to four buildings that had received LEED ™ Certification.  The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building project is environmentally responsible, profitable and a healthy place to live and work.  There are several categories of LEED certification depending on the type of construction.  The levels of certification within each category are Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

The Buildings Receiving Awards Were –

Corporate Headquarters of Century Engineering in Hunt Valley – This building received a Gold level rating in the LEED-NC (New Construction) category.  Additionally, this building is the only building in Baltimore County to qualify for the County's Performance Building Tax Credit.

Two Office Buildings Developed by Corporate Office Properties Trust in National Business Park Annapolis Junction – Both of these buildings were certified in the Core and Shell (CS) category. One of the buildings was certified at the Gold Level and the other at the Silver Level. The National Business Park is home to a number of government and research entities.

UMB Bio Park Building One in Baltimore – This building is the first of a 10 building biomedical research park on the campus of University of Maryland, Baltimore.  This LEED-Core and Shell (CS) was certified at the Silver Level. The building is a six story 120,000 sq ft laboratory complex with two parking garages. This Bio Park is part of Baltimore’s Westside redevelopment and expansion of the University of Maryland.
Individuals And Organizations Were Also Recognized For Their Efforts.

Leadership Awards Were Given To -

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman - Mr Ulman was one of the first County Executives in the nation to sign the Mayors’ Climate Change Initiative.  He also established the Commission on the Environment and Sustainability for Howard County. Under his leadership, Howard County created and passed one of the most comprehensive Green Building Bills addressing both commercial and residential construction using a combination of mandates and incentives.

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon -  She supported and signed three pieces of legislation very quickly after taking office last year. Those were; the Building Code – Green Building Requirements, which mandates LEED Silver level certification for both public and private development; the formation of the Baltimore City Office of Sustainability; and the formation of the Commission on Resource Sustainability . In addition to signing legislation, Mayor Dixon has created the Cleaner Greener Initiative, part of which includes an Alley Gating and Alley Greening initiative. She is also helping to bring the 2008 Green Roofs for Healthy Cities conference to Baltimore.

Baltimore County Councilman Vince Gardina - He established the Baltimore County Commission On Environmental Quality (CEQ) and wrote and sponsored tax credit legislation creating for in Baltimore County buildings that receive LEED NC certification. Mr Gardina also introduced a bill to expand the tax credit to include LEED (Core and Shell) CS and LEED (Existing Buildings) EB.

Sean McGuire – While working for the Department of Natural Resources, he was instrumental in the creation of the Executive Order that created the Maryland Green Building Council. That Order was signed by then Governor Glendening.

Urbanite Magazine – For the magazine’s consistent attention to issues related to the City's environment and green building issues.

Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse - For the firm’s consistent commitment to Baltimore City as a place to live and work. Also, for their pursuit of sustainable design principles in their current projects and their commitment to focus on sustainability in all of their future projects.

The Awards Celebration was held December 5th 2007 at the Visionary Arts Museum. The award presentations were conducted by Ariban Basu, CEO of the economic consulting group, Sage Policy Group. Mr Basu is well known as the host of the Morning Economic Forecast on WYPR radio.