Ever Vail: LEED-Certified Multi-Use Development
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 09.22.07
Vail Resorts, Inc. has announced more detailed plans for making the $1 billion Ever Vail the largest LEED-certified, multi-use resort development project in the nation.
"...This past June, Ever Vail was accepted into the pilot program for LEED's new "Neighborhood Development" certification program, putting it on the path to becoming the largest LEED-certified project for resort use in the U.S...."
"Ever Vail is located on a true "Brownfield" site at the base of Vail Mountain, currently known as West LionsHead, and will consist of over one million square feet of mixed-use space including residences, a hotel, offices, retail shops and restaurants, mountain operations facilities, a public parking garage, a new gondola and related skier portal and a public park." Principal features are listed below:
-- Use only woods certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and local area beetle-kill Lodgepole pine trees in building construction. A Vail Valley company is currently working with the U.S. Forest Service to establish a procedure for reclaiming the dying trees to be used in the project. Wherever possible, the Company will purchase and incorporate local and regional "green" materials for construction.
-- Incorporate a geothermal process (ground source heat pumps) to harness energy that would be used for snowmelt. Coils of durable material are embedded deep into the earth below. A fluid within the coil collects heat from the earth and distributes it through surface streets and sidewalks to melt the snow.-- Install small hydro micro-turbines in Gore Creek to power the outdoor streetscape lighting in public areas.
-- Preserve and enhance existing wetlands and Red Sandstone Creek through a new storm water runoff management system.
-- Include significant affordable housing on-site (see below), helping to meet many of the diversity requirements of the LEED program.
-- Use reclaimed water from snowmelt for use as "gray water" in the toilets, rather than using potable water. Create a "closed-loop" gray water system for washing all mountain operations vehicles, such as snowcats and snowmobiles at the site of the new mountain operations maintenance yard. Finally, use a large amount of reclaimed water from the snowmelt system to augment flows in Red Sandstone Creek.
-- Orient all buildings to maximize the natural light, thereby creating greater energy efficiency.
-- Incorporate green, living roofs on several of the buildings within the project. A "green" roof is a system in which natural materials such as soil and indigenous grasses cover the roof structure to help reduce solar heat accumulation and storm water runoff.
-- Implement an erosion control program so as to mitigate any potential erosion during construction.
-- Establish a "flex car" program to minimize vehicle emissions on the I-70 corridor between Denver International Airport and Vail. Vail Resorts would provide a fleet of cars for owners of properties in Ever Vail to use while in town, thereby reducing the total number of cars in the valley and encouraging owners to use shuttle service and public transportation to and from the valley.
Via:: Press release, Image credit::Google Satellite Map, West Vail Colorado USA
It's nice to see the first step--thinking about mixed-use, neighborhood transportation, and accessibility by transit, rather than making a LEED low-energy building with no access except by car.
But they've only widened their thinking here one notch: if the whole concept is a resort that people fly to, how is that sustainable?
i was just in Vail last week and can attest that there sure is a lot of construction going on there. it's great that they are building these new projects, but one of the downsides is that you can't see the mountain from the village anymore due to these enormous hotels and such going up. they are literally on top of the mountain.
"A Vail Valley company is currently working with the U.S. Forest Service to establish a procedure for reclaiming the dying trees to be used in the project."
Which dying trees, the ones they are killing?
And how does providing their own cars limit the number of cars? That doesn't add up. Clever marketing to get a slice of the rental car business.
This project is ripe with efforst to keep the environmental impact down, but once again, LEED is certifying buildings supporting environmental disasters like ski resorts and space ports. Greenwashing? Better LEED than not, but dangerous PR for an effort trying to establish itself.
I found this exciting. It shows what can be done
with monies from a healthy tax base. Come to
Greenville, Pennsylvania and add to their modest
efforts - the town needs new green blood with
ideas and energy. Having all 4 industries move
out has left them with clean air, plenty of open land
/ woodland for wildlife, including eagles, excellent inexpensive housing which we need to fill with solid, farseeing people who can appreciate a quiet, safe little town with river and 4 lakes nearby, a good college ( Thiel ), a fine symphony and friendly people. We appreciate all the info you are putting out to keep us focused on greening the world. Thanks for all you're doing - hope you keep it up full
throttle. Eventually it will influence our legislatures
and have even more influence.
The Trees that the Ever Vail Project will be using are NOT infact reclaimed because Vail Resorts is "killing" them. The Pine Beetle is a major issue throughout the entire west and is potentially going to kill the entire Lodgepole Pine forests if something is not done to stop it. Vail's use of local trees that are affected by this unfortunate situation couldn't be more environmentally responsible, as these forests are literaly a stones throw from the Ever Vail site. And providing their own cars for owners to drive within the 5 mile radius of the valley while they are there, is certainly much better than the 120 mile round trip to denver, therefore I doubt vail is profiting from anyway "slice of the rental car business." And finally ski resorts work closely with the U.S. Forest Service and although they are not models for environmental efficiency, they are already there and taking a smart and innovative approach to environmental design and development should be applauded.