Should we change our city's name to Green Rapids?? Not likely, even in the month of March, but with our
reputation in the "Green Community", we certainly could. A full 11 percent of all LEED-certified buildings can be
found in the Grand Rapids area, more per capita than any other city in the nation. Grand Rapids Michigan has a
core city population of about 200,000 people, which definitely means we are one of the "little guys" in the
green movement.
Grand Rapids' mayor, George Heartwell, spoke at the closing of the Chicago Greenbuild conference in
November of 2007. Sitting along side mayors of several large
cities, Albuquerque, Chicago, and Austin, Texas, he might have
seemed somewhat out of place to some. His speech can be
viewed here, so you can see why we, Grand Rapids,
Michigan, are one of the leaders in the Green Movement in the
United States. From the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the first
LEED-certified art museum in the world, to the countless new
buildings that have been designed using green principles, our
communities have grabbed a leadership position in the Green
Wave.
Here are a few of the larger, more recent projects built to LEED certification:
- Grand Rapids Ballet performance hall
- 340-room J.W. Marriott hotel
- Grand Rapids Art Museum
- Grand Valley State University Engineering School
- Restored, century-old office building
- First restaurant in the Midwest to be LEED certified inside and out.
There are also many area schools working towards LEED certification. Even our Habitat for Humanity chapter
has committed itself to building only LEED-certified homes. We have green design firms, homes built with green
materials, and corporations that have made sustainability a priority. We even offer one of the country's first
Sustainable Business Degrees ( Aquinas College).
If you want to be on the forefront of the hip, new GREEN WAVE, then there is no better place to be than our
hometown, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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Terry Westbrook's Grand Rapids Real Estate Blog
Copyright by Terry Westbrook 2008
Contact me at : 1-888-240-1968 x 0 toll free
Website url: Terry Westbrook.com
Email: terry@TerryWestbrook.com
George Heartwell -world change photo ~ JW Marriot Hotel in Grand Rapids Mi courtesy of JW Marriot Corp.
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Green Rapids. I dig that Terry. We are certainly blessed to have so many business and civic leaders who "get it" in West Michigan.
And very cool that some of the HUGE philantropic money here is firmly calling for GREEN.
Great post Terry! Grand Rapids and West Michigan are truly one of the nation leaders.
Christopher , Eric W and Eric H. Thanks for stopping by we are blessed and our area is concerned with environment. We are small potatoes but we are green maybe larger cities will follow suit.
Hi Terry, enjoyed this post. My husband who is a civil engineer has worked on several environmentally friendly projects in the greater Grand Rapids area. It is great to see Grand Rapids leading the way in terms of sustainable development and green buildings.
HI Lola: We need to get the message out and i'm glad we can say Grand Rapids is leading the way.
Hi Terry - great post and love the picture! I am excited that the LEED for Homes program is up and running! For those in real estate selling existing homes there are also great REGREEN guidelines that have been released and energy raters who can make recommendations and improvements on existing properties! I am glad to live in such a forward thinking community!
Mary: Thanks as energy become more expensive and concern for the planet is an issue we will all have to think of ways to be more Green.