Henderson housing receives LEED certification

ARKADELPHIA — Henderson State University’s newest campus housing facilities have received LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for having an environmentally friendly design and construction.

University Place is a 300bed, traditional residence hall that offers suite-style rooms for both freshmen and upperclassmen. Reddie Villas is an apartment complex that accommodates 240 upperclassmen. Both facilities opened in 2015.

LEED — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across several key metrics, including energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

“These are the first Henderson facilities to receive LEED certification,” said Brett Powell, vice president for finance and administration. “One of the emphasis areas of our strategic plan is a commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship. These certifications, along with the extensive energy savings project completed in 2016, are significant milestones toward that commitment.”

Powell said LEED certification is validation that Henderson takes serious its responsibility to engage in sustainable building practices and to be responsible consumers of energy resources.

Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

“The USGBC requires a strict verification process before, during, and after construction before a project can be certified,” Powell said. “Through the verification process, projects are rated, and we are pleased that both Reddie Villas and University Place were recognized.”

Submitted photo UNIVERSITY PLACE: The 300-bed, University Place residence hall on the Henderson State University campus in Arkadelphia recently received LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The Reddie Villas apartment complex was also certified.