SYRACUSE — The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has awarded gold LEED certification to the 1.3 million-square-foot expansion of the Carousel Center shopping mall.
The gold level is the second highest in the council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. The council awarded the certification Feb. 6.
“Destiny USA is of a size and significance that it has a unique opportunity to educate the thousands of customers who visit each day about high-performance, energy-efficient, healthy green buildings,” USGBC President and CEO Rick Fedrizzi, a Syracuse native, said in a news release. “It’s a tremendous model for other retail and commercial enterprises for whom sustainable construction and development are operational imperatives.”
The expansion used a variety of techniques to reach the gold level, including conserving 4 million gallons of water annually through a rainwater harvesting system and buying more than 11 million kilowatt hours of green power.
In addition, flooring in the expansion is made of crushed walnut shells and cork and the project includes a solar reflective cool roof that conserves energy by keeping the surrounding air at cooler temperatures.
A small portion of the expansion is open now with a fuller opening expected later this year. The expansion is 65 percent leased, according to a Feb. 8 article in The Wall Street Journal.
Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com