As reported this past week on Green Lodging News, The Duffie Companies’ Home2 Suites by Hilton Silver Spring (Silver Spring, Md.) is on its way to becoming LEED Platinum—the highest level of green building certification available through the U.S. Green Building Council. Earlier in May, MGM Resorts International announced that MGM Springfield, located in Springfield, Mass., has received the world’s first LEED New Construction Platinum level certification for a gaming resort. The Home2 Suites by Hilton Silver Spring and MGM Springfield join these other LEED Platinum hotels or resorts in the United States: Proximity Hotel, Greensboro, N.C.; Hotel Skyler Syracuse (N.Y.), Tapestry Collection by Hilton; Bardessono, Yountville, Calif.; The Hotel at Oberlin, Oberlin, Ohio; the College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, College Park, Md.; and W San Francisco. The Crash Pad, a hostel in Chattanooga, Tenn., has also earned LEED Platinum.
It is not easy earning the LEED Platinum designation. One must score 80 or more points in the LEED system. Basic LEED certification requires from 40 to 49 points. LEED Platinum lodging developers all share a passion for sustainability and an interest in building highly efficient, healthy buildings that include some element of renewable energy production—solar primarily.
The 100-room Home2 Suites by Hilton Silver Spring, for example, will have a 124.8-kilowatt solar system and offer a water savings of 42.6 percent and energy savings of 40 percent when compared to a standard hotel its size. The hotel will include all LED lighting, guestroom energy management system, a quiet, centralized variable refrigerant flow HVAC system, a lighting control system for back-of-house lighting, and extra-insulated windows. Low-flow water fixtures such as Niagara Stealth toilets (.8 gpf) and an 8,000-gallon tank for rainwater storage—located below the patio—ensure a high level of water efficiency. These are just some of the examples of investments made.
MGM Springfield Includes CHP Plant
At the MGM Springfield, owners invested in an integrated smart energy infrastructure and submeters through the facility to help monitor and control the property’s electrical and mechanical systems to support year-round energy efficiency. The resort was designed to accommodate significant onsite electricity generation, including a 1.13MW solar canopy and a 450kw microturbine, Combined Heat and Power (CHP) central plant.
There are 50 electric vehicle charging stations at the MGM Springfield and six at the Home2 Suites by Hilton Silver Spring. Like the Home2 Suites by Hilton Silver Spring, the MGM Springfield has an underground cistern to capture and store rainwater for the watering of landscaping. The MGM Springfield diverted more than 95 percent of construction and demolition waste by weight, from landfills during construction. It used interior finishes such as paints, sealants, coatings, adhesives, carpeting, and composite wood products with low/no volatile organic chemicals and free of urea-formaldehyde, helping to create healthier spaces for guests and employees.
The Home2 Suites by Hilton Silver Spring and MGM Springfield are certain to attract the business of eco-minded travelers and meeting attendees looking for a place to stay and meet that aligns with their values. Investors have built in a competitive advantage and created significant public relations value that will last for years. The properties, like the other Platinum ones, will be positive forces in their communities as well.
It is great to see companies like The Duffie Companies and MGM Resorts International making such powerful statements with their new developments.
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