Buck Center for Health and Fitness Achieves LEED Silver Designation

Story posted January 13, 2010

The Peter Buck Center for Health and Fitness has earned coveted LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification established by the U. S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute.

LEED is the nation"s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.

"Comprising a fitness area, athletic offices and the College"s health center, the building was designed to provide faculty, staff and students with a healthy environment and to ensure that we are operating in a sustainable and energy-efficient manner," says S. Catherine Longley, senior vice president for finance and administration and treasurer.

"This recognition firmly acknowledges our commitment to

. "

Water use, energy performance, indoor air quality and sustainable materials are a few of the key components that were taken into consideration when seeking LEED silver certification.

The building contains several green performance elements, including energy-efficient lighting and water fixtures, certified wood and eco-friendly furniture and carpeting, as well as water-efficient landscaping.

The Buck Center, made possible through the generosity of Dr. Peter Buck "52, opened in September 2009; a formal dedication ceremony is scheduled January 28, 2010.

The project was designed by Cambridge Seven Architects of Cambridge, Mass. , and built by Barr Barr, of Framingham, Mass. The College partnered with Fore Solutions of Portland, Maine, as its LEED consultant.

The Buck Center becomes the fourth campus building to be granted LEED certification. The Sidney J. Watson Arena was granted LEED status in July 2009; two residence halls, Osher and West, earned LEED Silver certification in 2006.

The LEED Silver designation requires a total of 33-38 points; Bowdoin received 36 points for the Buck Center project.

"This latest achievement demonstrates the College"s continued commitment to sustainable building design and construction practices," says Director of Capital Projects Don Borkowski.

"All the hard work and difficult decisions made by the programming, design and construction teams enabled us to incorporate many sustainable elements that made silver certification possible. "

LEED is a voluntary, consensus-based rating system for high-performance sustainable buildings that provides a measurable standard for building owners and occupants.

USGBC awards points in six environmental categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design.

"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, USGBC president, CEO and founding chair.

"The work of innovative building projects such as Bowdoin"s Peter Buck Center for Health and Fitness is a fundamental driving force in the green building movement. "

Earning LEED Silver Certification

Low-flow water fixtures yield 48. 2% reduction inannual water consumption (compared to standard practice), saving 118,340 gallons per year

In support of local renewable energy projects, 70% of the electricity for the first two years of operation provided with renewable energy credits from the Mars Hill Wind Farm in Maine

Low-VOC emitting building products such as adhesives, paints and carpets

Read more about Sustainability at Bowdoin. About Peter Buck

Peter Buck, a member of the Bowdoin College Class of 1952, is a nuclear physicist and philanthropist who co-founded the Subway franchise restaurant chain.

Born in South Portland, Maine, Buck earned master"s and doctoral degrees in physics at Columbia University. From 1957 to 1978, he held positions as a nuclear physicist with several companies.

In 1965, he made entrepreneurial history when he loaned a 17-year-old family friend $1,000 to open the first Subway Sandwiches and Salads Shop. This endeavor grew to two stores the next year, 16 shops by 1973, and individual franchise sales by the mid-1970s. As of January 2010, there were 32,157 Subway restaurants in 90 countries.

Buck, who now lives in Danbury, Conn. , was awarded an honorary doctor of human letters degree by the College in 2008. .

Asburys PAL fitness center nearly complete

ASBURY PARK The new city Police Athletic League boxing and fitness center is nearly complete on the second floor of the city public works department on Main Street, with one of the final construction items, an elevator, set to be installed Wednesday. James Famularo, the city"s director of recreation, said he expects young people to be in the new facility by March. "The goal is to have it for boxing, karate, health and fitness for youth," Famularo said. "It"s PAL and the city working together." The $230,000 project was made possible in part by a $96,000 grant from Interfaith Neighbors, the Asbury Park nonprofit leading efforts to rebuild the city"s west side. Most of the remaining money came from the $2 million beachfront developer Asbury Partners has so far deposited for affordable housing or community projects. Carl Simms, the volunteer boxing coach now running a limited program without a gym in town, said he expects to see 30 young people come out once the gym is up and running. A current standout, Simms said, is 15-year-old Allen Taylor of the city, who in October became the 2009 state Diamond Glove champion. "The more programs and activities you have in a community for kids, the better it is for those kids," Simms said. "Pop Warner, Little League, all these activities are vehicles to teach kids discipline. Sports like boxing teach kids confidence and self-esteem. We"re building character. Famularo said the city renovated 2,300 square feet of second-floor space into a center that includes the main boxing and fitness areas, changing rooms, bathrooms, an office, closets and the elevator. Still to to be finished is rubberized floors; mirrors on walls; the boxing ring itself, to be paid for with $4,000 raised by the Asbury Park Rotary club; and fitness equipment, Famularo said. Patrick Durkin, director of Interfaith Neighbors" real estate development, said the money donated for the boxing gym came from the first $1 million of a 10-year plan to help rebuild the west side. The five companies that invested that first $1 million through the state"s Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit Program are New Jersey Natural Gas, Jersey Central Power Light, Selective Insurance, PNC Bank, and Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shields.