What is LEED?

The developer of Solera Apartments, Zocalo Community Development, has made a principled commitment to reduce the impact its projects have on the earth and its environment. To facilitate the construction of highly sustainable buildings, Zocalo uses the US Green Building Council’s LEED Certification program. 

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard that provides third party verification of a building’s sustainability. The LEED system can apply to all building types from commercial to residential and follows the full lifecycle of the building from design and construction to location and tenant comfort. Other sustainable building rating systems do exist however most other systems are not as rigorous or as popular; as of December 2008 over 2,100 buildings have been certified under the USGBC rating systems. There are nine total LEED rating systems:

• New Construction

• Existing Buildings

• Commercial Interiors

• Core & Shell

• Schools
• Retail
• 
Healthcare

• Homes
• 
Neighborhood Development

Solera will be certified under the “New Construction” rating system – nationally 1,421 buildings have been certified under this category. This system is broken into four levels of certification: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Zocalo’s RiverClay Condos project, completed in May 2008, was the Rocky Mountain Region’s first LEED-Certified multi-family project; it was certified at the Silver level.

The level of a building’s certification is determined by a point system. For New Construction, points/credits are allotted based on performance in six categories:

• Sustainable Sites
• Water Efficiency
• Energy and Atmosphere
• Materials and Resources
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Innovative Design

Sixty-nine total credits are available for a given project. Solera will seek to improve upon Zocalo’s RiverClay building and achieve LEED Gold Certification, which requires a minimum of thirty-nine points. Here is the breakdown of points based on LEED Version 2.2:

• Platinum (52-69 points)
• Gold (39-51 points)
• Silver (33-38 points)
• Certified (26-32 points)

As we move forward, we will use this blog to update you on our progress under each LEED category and let you know the credits we are pursuing. We have a set plan for reaching our goal and will walk you through our decisions as we add new posts throughout the construction process.

For more information about LEED certification, please visit the USGBC website at www.usgbc.org.

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Solera Construction Launch Party

The Solera Construction Launch Party on May 15th was a success, with nearly 80 attendees coming together at the site to celebrate the start of what will be Denver’s first LEED-Certified rental development.

Mayor Hickenlooper (pictured above with David Zucker, managing partner of Zocalo Community Development) addressed the crowd on the importance of sustainable developments in Denver and emphasized the benefits these types of buildings can bring to our city. We are humbled and thankful to be supported by influential and inspirational people who share our vision and desire for sustainability.

Many thanks to Hi*Rise, Snooze and Marco’s Coal Fired Pizzeria for catering the event. Solera is fortunate to be situated among some of Denver’s finest restaurants and we hope to continue fostering strong relationships with the surrounding businesses. We would also like to extend our appreciation to Purnell Steen and Le Jazz Machine for providing the afternoon’s jazz soundtrack.

Stay tuned as we dive into the details of building a LEED-Certified development and break down our steps toward receiving the points we need. We look forward to charting our progress with you.

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Groundbreaking News

Zocalo Community Development is thrilled to announce the launch of our newest Urban Green Development, Solera. Targeted for Gold LEED Certification, this eleven-story condo development will be among only a handful of sustainable rental projects in the entire country. We are excited to see Denver progress as an earth-conscious city through more eco-friendly developments and are honored to be a part of the ever-growing sustainable movement.

We hope to use this blog as a tool to connect with the community and share the process and major milestones of creating a LEED-Certified development. Check back for bi-monthly updates to learn about all the considerations that go into building a sustainable project!

ABOUT SOLERA

Located at 1956 Lawrence Street, Solera will be only three blocks from Coors Field, four blocks from the Light Rail, and four blocks from the 16th Street Mall. To our delight, we recently discovered that Solera's Downtown Denver location was rated as "Walkers' Paradise" according to the popular site www.walkscore.com.

Some of the features to expect in this 120 unit development include quartz counters and islands made of recycled content, Energy Star appliances, dual flush toilets, locally produced cabinetry, and sustainable, low-VOC carpets and flooring. Solera will even have structured parking with preferred parking assignment for hybrid vehicles.

To learn more about Solera, check out the website at www.SoleraLiving.com

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