September 14, 2007

Roxbury: The newly constructed headquarters of Project Hope at 550 Dudley Street, the first certified “green” building in Roxbury, received notice of achieving Silver status for showing Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design. To achieve Silver status the complete construction process is critiqued from site preparation through design, choice of materials, move-in and intended usage. At Project Hope, the recycled content of construction materials was: sheetrock drywall 95%; structural steel 54%; ceiling tiles 51%; ceramic tile 43%. The jobsite recycling rate achieved by the builders, Chapman Construction, was 75%. The building features carpool parking, bicycle storage and changing room, water efficient plumbing systems and 75% of the work spaces are lit by daylight views.

“This is a building that teaches us how to live when we go home, so that generations to come will also be able to enjoy a healthy and fruitful planet Earth.” said Sister Margaret Leonard, Executive Director of Project Hope. “Staff and clients alike enjoy the pure air, filtered water and sunlit spaces.”

The building team assembled by Project Hope included Chapman Construction/Design, Finegold Alexander & Associates, SAR+ and the Green Roundtable, Inc., an affiliate of the US Green Building Council.

Now after one year in operation in this “green” building, Project Hope continues to recycle waste materials, to use non-chemical cleaning products, to purchase chlorine free paper products. All appliances are energy efficient. When internal space needs to be redesigned, the walls are moved, not destroyed. Project Hope is proud to be earth friendly; to be designed and operated in such a way as to continually conserve precious material and energy resources.

The Green Building Rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council created a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction. The purpose of this system, which began in 1994 under the Natural Resources Defense Council was to promote whole-building environmentally friendly design practices and raise consumer awareness of green building benefits.

Learn more about the features of our Green Building.

Read more about LEED Certification and Project Hope's Green Building.

We would love to give you a "green" tour of our Community Building. If you are interested in arranging a tour, please email info@prohope.org.