“Going through Green Globes’ third-party certification helped the owners ensure their metrics were met,” asserts Sara Greenwood, principal at The Greenwood Consulting Group who served as the project manager for Skye Apartments. “It also tells the tenants and residents that green measures were implemented and verified.”

In today’s competitive marketplace, residents and prospective renters take a keen interest in knowing that multi-family developments are environmentally responsive and improve personal wellbeing. Owners and managers at Skye Apartments tout its Green Globes certification and the project’s sustainable benefits on its website and in the development’s common areas.

Barbara Clarke, the project’s Green Globes Assessor, notes that the design of Skye Apartments takes advantage of its temperate climate with indoor/outdoor living space. “This makes the development very comfortable and reduces the need for air conditioning and heating. They really took advantage of natural ventilation.”

“With Green Globes, assessors can provide value throughout the process.”

Additional sustainable highlights at Skye Apartments include:

• Electric car charging stations and easy access to alternative modes of transportation.
• An irrigation system linked to a weather satellite waters the landscaping only when needed, and gutters and downspouts capture rainwater and direct it into planted areas for landscaping reuse.
• Acoustic comfort and performance criteria were verified through a licensed a coustical engineer.
• Good project management and close coordination resulted in on-site training of the plumbing, electrical, lighting, mechanical and building automation systems for long-term high performance.

Inspired Actions

Green Globes’ online performance survey covers a wide range of environmentally sound practices to inspire ingenuity, and many coincided with the owner’s project requirements. Innovative practices such as utilizing clean diesel equipment (such as gel batteries) during construction improved indoor air quality for workers.

Having an assessor act as a resource also helped the project reach its certification goals. “There’s a bike path that goes right by the building, but they weren’t initially aware that would count toward their certification,” says Clarke. “I work with other third-party certification systems and there is no one to encourage you to go the next step or even suggest where you can improve. With Green Globes, assessors can provide value throughout the process.”

Greenwood has managed the certification of multiple projects through the Green Globes rating system and finds it to be clear and approachable. “If the assessor has any questions during the Stage I report, I can easily respond to them. It’s really straightforward,” she says. “I compile and submit the supporting documentation so by the time the assessor goes out to perform the on-site walkthrough, they are simply performing a visual verification.”

After Clarke inspected Skye Apartments’ residential buildings and amenity spaces to ensure systems were implemented and criteria was met, she sat down with the on-site property manager and offered a list of recommendations to implement. “She was really excited and got a lot of ideas,” recalls Clarke. “It was clear the owner, project team and on-site staff were committed to supporting the environment and resident’s wellbeing. They followed many great practices to earn three Green Globes.”