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At the new Florida Marlins stadium's construction site, virtually all waste is recycled, most building materials are made locally and pieces of old concrete from the demolished Orange Bowl are repurposed into support beams.
Developers say these moves are part of a proactive plan to ``green'' the entire construction process, build an environmentally conscious stadium, and get official recognition from an organization that gives environmental ratings to buildings.
The new ballpark, scheduled to open in 2012, would be the first LEED-certified stadium with a retractable roof in the country, said Edwin Perkins, spokesman for Hunt/Moss, the Marlins' contractor.
Perkins showed off the eco-friendly systems and an artist's rendering of the stadium during a media walk-through Tuesday. The Marlins are aiming to qualify for LEED Silver Certification, a designation given to environmentally sustainable structures by the U.S. Green Building Councils' Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. Silver is the third level of LEED certification, behind Platinum and Gold.
Kyle Abney, president of LEED's South Florida chapter, said it was important for the ballpark designers to start thinking about ecological impact early in the process in order to meet LEED's ``five fundamentals'' of green building: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
``The earlier you can start the better because it allows the project to actually have a true integrated design,'' he said. ``And that's really key to green building.''
As the stadium takes shape, developers are looking to reduce their ecological footprint -- controlling storm water runoff, recycling 90 percent of waste material and keeping hazardous chemicals from spreading into the community.
When completed, the $642 million project -- built largely with public money gleaned from hotel taxes -- will feature a heat-reflecting white roof, low-emission products to maintain air quality and large glass panels for increased natural lighting.
``A lot of people don't connect natural lighting with energy savings, but when you have natural light, you use less artificial light, which also generates heat,'' Abney said.
The stadium, at 1501 NW 3rd Street in Miami, will also look to decrease automobile emissions by promoting easy access public transportation, providing about 2,000 spaces for bicycles and giving priority parking to people driving low emission cars, developers said.
Where are those peeps who were complaining about runoff and shit a few months ago?
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