Location, Location, Location!

In an earlier posting we highlighted the benefits of living in a building that is walking distance to both work and entertainment locations. The LEED Scorecard recognizes the importance of a building’s location through a number of credits within the Sustainable Sites category of the New Construction scorecard. LEED awards points for location recognizing that the simple choice of where to construct a building can have a big impact on the building’s overall sustainability. One of the points available in this category is proximity to public transit.

At the Solera project six separate light rail lines are within a half mile walking distance. These lines open up the Denver metropolitan region to a Solera resident and help make car-free living a reality. With the build-out of Fastracks currently underway, those six light rail lines will reach even further destinations within the metro area. In addition to the light rail are five bus lines in close proximity to Solera making access within the city core easy for downtown residents.

The US Green Building Council (USGBC) awards LEED points for proximity to mass transit because increased use of public transportation means reduced dependence on vehicular transit. At Solera, and buildings like it in dense urban areas, residents have the ability to live car free while still being highly mobile. For this reason USGBC encourages building developers to make a building’s location an early consideration when going for LEED certification.