Pueblo Health Department gets LEED Gold Certification

Posted: Oct 20, 2010 11:10 AM by Greg Boyce
Updated: Oct 20, 2010 11:32 AM

The Pueblo Board of County Commissioners announced Wednesday that it has been awarded the LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification for the new Pueblo City-County Health Department building located at 9th and Santa Fe.

"Pueblo Board of County Commissioners strived for energy savings while creating a building that was healthy for the workers and visiting clients. Additionally, the new Health Department building represents where our community is with renewable energy," stated Jeff Chostner Chairman of the Pueblo Board of County Commissioners.

The building has more than 41,000 square feet of floor space. Pueblo County achieved LEED certification for lighting, reduction in energy and water use and recyclable and recycled material use as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies.

"The green building movement offers an unprecedented opportunity to respond to the most-important challenges of our time, including global climate change, dependence on non-sustainable and expensive sources of energy and threats to human health," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. "The work of innovative building projects such as the Pueblo City-County Health Department is a fundamental driving force in the green building movement."

The building includes a number of energy saving features:

Passive Solar Design

Highly Efficient Heating and Cooling Units
Reuse of existing county lot with demolition and recycling of materials resulting in a saving of $70,000 in landfill cost
Interior and exterior building materials made of recycled product
Interior and exterior building design and landscaping allows for a 47% reduction in water consumption