Assisted Living Executive

project the size of Victory Centre South Chicago can easily exceed $50,000.

Points and Pointers

There are LEED-certified projects in all 50 states, and every business day $464 million worth of construction registers with LEED, according to the USGBC. Once Victory Centre of South Chicago receives its LEED certification, it will become a model for assisted living communities seeking the same.

The green attributes that will help Victory Centre of South Chicago earn enough points to achieve Silver certification include:

• Native landscaping throughout the community’s outdoor spaces. Plants and shrubs that are native to the Chicago area will require less water and chemical fertilizers to maintain. Landscaping projects also include planting extra trees to shade impervious surface parking, which in turn reduces heat retention and additional cooling efforts.

• A bioswale rain garden that collects and retains water. The rain water collected can then be used to maintain the community’s outdoor spaces as needed.

• Reflective Energy Star roofing. The non-patio roofs throughout the community are Energy Star products that bounce heat off the building, which also contributes to curbing energy usage.

• Quality and copious insulation. This strategy affects all the community’s roof surfaces. The building also has additional cavity wall insulation, advanced air sealing at doors and windows, and vinyl windows with Low-E glass—all to provide more efficient insulation for heating and cooling to reduce energy usage.

• Energy Star-rated appliances. These include refrigerators, stoves, lighting systems and accessories, and HVAC systems that use the least amount of energy to run over time.

• Building and finishing products containing recycled materials. Victory Centre of South Chicago was constructed with gypsum drywall and insulation that contain recycled materials. Products that contain recycled materials can vary in price.

• Adhesives, sealants, and paints that include minimal levels of volatile organic compounds, or low-VOC products. Use of non-formaldehyde pro-

cessed insulation, for example, reduces the amount of toxins in the air, which can help those with lung disease and asthma breathe more easily.

• Low sones rating fans in restrooms. These run quietly to reduce sound pollution.

And while Victory Centre of South Chicago may become Pathway Senior Living’s first LEED-certified community, it isn’t the company’s first foray into green building and design. Like many senior living providers, the company has implemented several green policies and procedures at its communities in the past few years. These include using electronic forms instead of paper; a quarterly “cash back” reward for communities that curb paper consumption; recycling toner cartridges and computer equipment; and using green cleaning methods and products.

McLean, Virginia-based sunrise se-nior Living received an ALFA Best of the Best Award in 2008 for its Sunrise Energy Council, a brain trust that spans all of the company’s functions related to energy. (See “Best of the Best” in the June 2008 issue of Assisted Living Executive.) The council has enacted several strategies, including retrofitting compact fluorescent lighting in more than 325 communities, to curb energy usage and costs. Sunrise Senior Living also has communities under development that will seek LEED certification.

Wellesley, Massachusetts-based Benchmark Assisted Living is slashing energy consumption and costs at its communities by applying best practices from the Energy Star program, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency. (See “Sustainable Solutions” in the November/December 2008 issue of Assisted Living Executive.) The company has installed compact fluorescent or other energy-efficient lighting in all buildings, and is steadily replacing old appliances with Energy Star-rated appliances.

There are certain appliances, however, that are not yet covered by the Energy Star program, including some stovetops and ovens—but providers still have options. For example, many ceramic stovetops allow for more energy-efficient cooking because burners are spring-loaded beneath the glass and force even distribution of heat. Plus, the absence of replacement and maintenance parts needed for ceramic cook tops, compared with coil cook tops, “translates into both cost and landfill

savings,” says Suzanne Owens, vice president of sales and marketing for Kenyon International, a manufacturer of ceramic cook tops. In recent years, the company has seen increased interest in its green product options across several housing sectors.

Resources and next steps

Providers have access to a host of resources that can help them make communities healthier and more environmentally friendly places to live and work, including the ALFA Web site, www.alfa.org, where they can access recent articles from Assisted Living Executive.

Here are other information sources providers may find useful:

• The U.S. Green Building Council, www. usgbc.gov, offers several free downloads that explain everything from the LEED basics to strategies for specific types of buildings.

• Energy Star, www.energystar.gov, offers product-specific guidelines and recommendations for residential buildings.

• The EPA’s Green Building site, www. epa.gov/greenbuilding, offers case studies that address water and energy consumption strategies.

ALFA is also working with Energy Star’s Healthcare Facilities Division to get assisted living added to the building categories rated by Energy Star. The program will provide companies with a tool to measure performance in all of their buildings and benchmark that performance against other providers. Assisted Living Executive will provide updates as soon as they are available.

If your senior living company or community is pursuing LEED certification, tell us about it. Assisted Living Executive will continue reporting on the industry’s progress in this area. E-mail editor@alfa.org. ❏