Local chapter of U.S. Green Building Council moves, may start student chapter

With all the green building in the region, it's no wonder that the U.S. Green Building Council – West Michigan Chapter has grown to the point of requiring more office space. Since its founding in 2004, the nonprofit chapter has operated out of a space in the executive director's home. But last June it moved into Grand Rapids Community College's (GRCC) Tassell M-TEC, 622 Godfrey Avenue SW.

"We function always with an eye toward partnerships and collaborations," says Linda Frey, executive director. "One board member, Brian Shultz, is construction trades manager of GRCC's M-TEC and when he found there was support for us from GRCC to take a space, we decided to make the move."

Frey says the M-TEC (Michigan Technical Education Center) location is a good fit for the local chapter because of its involvement with Green Advantage construction trades program at GRCC.

"Right now we're hoping to establish a GRCC student chapter of the USGBC," Frey says. "They'd be autonomous but would be a partner with our chapter. We're hoping we can continue to be hands on with students, especially with the continuing efforts to green the buildings on campus."

The new space accommodates four workers when needed and provides access to any conference rooms in GRCC's buildings. Frey says five elements included in construction have green features: cradle-to-cradle Steelcase furnishings, re-use of used file cabinets and chairs, linoleum countertops made of earth-friendly linseed oil, access to public transit and setting up shop in an existing structure.

The chapter has 344 members – more than twice its membership two years ago. Members include builders, architects, landscape designers, schools and universities, government offices and environmental organizations.

Source: Linda Frey, U.S. Green Building Council – West Michigan
 
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].