Revisiting Oregon's first green buildings
By Wendy Culverwell , Business Journal Staff Writer
Business Journal Staff Writer
It’s been nearly a decade since the U.S. Green Building Council certified its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-rated buildings.
The first buildings to earn the LEED plaque were profiled, celebrated like royalty and extensively toured by eco-minded designers eager for a glimpse of the future.
Viridian Place, the three-story, 15,000-square-foot home of Neil Kelly Co., was the first LEED project west of the Mississippi.
Now, as Viridian Place and its fellow pioneers face their 10th birthdays, the Portland Business Journal revisited some of the most prominent early examples of green development to find out how things are going.
Have the buildings live up to their euphoric billing? What worked and what didn’t?
Would the developers and owners do it again?
Most owners and operators are happy with their decision — though there were plenty of lessons learned along the way.
Viridian Place: 15573 S.W. Bangy Road, Lake Oswego
LEED Award: Nov. 26, 2001, “certified” level.
The project: Three-story multi-tenant office building with 15,000 square feet. Built by Blazer Development and CES Northwest as headquarters for Neil Kelly Co., a Portland home-remodeling business.
Budget: $2 million ($130 per square foot)
Construction: 1999 to 2000.
The Pitch: Maximum exposure to sunlight, low-flow water fixtures to cut use by 20 percent; and efficiency measures to reduce energy consumption by 40 percent.
The backstory: Viridian Place, which means “going to green,” was a work in progress when the LEED standards came out. Portland-based Green Building Services, then a division of Portland General Electric, was looking for projects to showcase its sustainable design skills. Viridian’s owners, including Tom Kelly, president of Neil Kelly Co., jumped at the chance.
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