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DVGBC Announces 2017 Groundbreaker Finalists

The Delaware Valley Green Building Council (DVGBC) announced their 2017 Project Finalists and Organizational and Individual Award winners for the 2017 Groundbreaker Awards, which recognize local green building leaders.

Project winners will be selected during the Groundbreakers awards ceremony on September 19th. (Tickets now on sale.)

2017 Groundbreaker Winners

DVGBC announces the Individual and Organizational award winners prior to the event. Below are the 2017 honorees.

The Ronald McDonald House located at 3925 Chestnut Street was named the 2017 Organizational Award winner due to the organization’s investment in innovative energy efficiency and water conservation upgrades, which resulted in savings used to support the organization’s core mission. In addition, Ronald McDonald House was one of the first property owners in the city to commit to the Philadelphia 2030 District.

Scott Mazo, Founder and CEO of University Place Associates, was named the 2017 Individual Award winner due to his high standards of social responsibility and ambitious vision to build only to LEED Platinum standards while viewing sustainability as a smart investment for the community and the environment.

2017 Groundbreaker Project Finalists

University of Pennsylvania, New College House

3335 Woodland Walk, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

New College House is the University of Pennsylvania’s first purpose-built college house designed to bring 350 students, faculty, and staff together in one community. The 198,000 gsf brick and limestone building restores vital urban green space with a publicly-accessible sloping lawn and incorporates ample green roofs.

PlayArts

1241 N. Front Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122

PlayArts, a locally grown play-based arts and enrichment center for kids and their parents, sits in a converted 1907 Philadelphia public bathhouse. This Passive House level, deep-energy retrofit, hosts art and music instruction, adventure-based play, and a small cafe?. ???

Wynne Senior Residences
2001 N. 54th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19131

Wynne Senior Residences is a new four-story, 51-unit senior rental project located in the Wynnefield- Overbrook section of West Philadelphia. Designed to meet Passive House and Enterprise Green Communities standards, the project provides much-needed affordable living opportunities, retail and a variety of amenities, while reconnecting a neighborhood with its historic past.

Chester Arthur School
2000 Catharine Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19146

Through a successful public-private partnership, the outdoor educational environment at Chester Arthur School redefines the traditional schoolyard model. Site improvements embraced the creation of a dynamic green, social space for neighbors and students of all ages, which in turn has fostered robust dialogue about sustainable habitat for humans and plants.

FMC Tower at Cira Centre South
2929 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104

The FMC Tower at Cira Centre South offers a unique living and working environment, at a key urban crossroads, with high-performance curtain wall construction, exemplary water use reduction, lighting controls, green roofs and shared amenity features while combining innovative design with the latest in advanced engineering and sustainable architecture.

The Whitehall
3795 Schuylkill Road, Spring City, PA 19475

The Whitehall, in Spring City, PA, developed by Mission First Housing Group, is a model of innovation. The unique project stems combines adaptive reuse of an historic Inn with new construction, while implementing Passive House design and construction and other sustainable practices, all at the same time that it serves an at-risk segment of the community, Veterans of Chester County.

Julie Hancher

Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake.