University of Massachusetts Boston Facilitiy Attains LEED Gold Certification

Development celebrates achievement awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council

Birmingham, AL – Capstone Development Partners today announced that the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMB) Dining and Residence Hall project has achieved LEED® Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

“We are thrilled to achieve LEED® Gold certification for the University of Massachusetts Boston project,” said Jeff Jones, Principal, Capstone Development Partners. “Through the hard work and dedication of all involved we were able to exceed our initial LEED® Silver target while staying on schedule and on budget and hope it will continue to yield cost savings through the enhanced sustainable features. Most importantly, we hope this certification will be valued by our current and future student residents.”

The UMass Boston Residence Hall achieved LEED® Gold certification for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions aimed at achieving high performance in sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Some of the sustainable strategies and project attributes that helped the project achieve this level of certification include:

• The location of the project site on land that is considered a brownfield redevelopment.
• A water savings of 34% which is achieved by using low-flow showers, faucets, toilets and urinals.
• An energy cost savings of 26.8% which is achieved through the implementation of a high performance building envelope, energy recovery units, hot water efficiency and 100% LEED lighting.
• The thoughtful selection of cool roofing and hardscape materials to reduce the heat island effect.

“As the first residence hall on our campus, this development created the opportunity for our students to have a traditional residential college experience,” said Katherine Newman, Interim Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Boston. “We are especially pleased that it has achieved LEED Gold certification as it aptly reflects our commitment to – and our students’ interest in – sustainable development.”