Palm Healthcare Foundation Seeks to Be Florida’s First to Achieve LEED® Certification for Green Building Reconstruction

Palm Healthcare Foundation is setting the example locally and statewide for green building reconstruction. Currently under construction, the Palm Healthcare Pavilion, home of the Mollie Wilmot Children’s Center, will be a state-of-the-art $12.5 million project for children with special healthcare needs. Through this project, Palm Healthcare Foundation is seeking to be the first in the State of Florida to achieve LEED® (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification for the renovation of an existing building. It will adhere to the LEED® Green Building Rating System, the nationally accepted standard for green buildings developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The project will follow the USGBC’s design and construction practices that significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impacts of buildings on the environment and occupants in five areas: sustainable site planning; water efficiency; energy and atmosphere; materials and resources; and indoor environmental quality.

“According to the USGBC’s Certified Project List, no existing building renovations have been LEED® certified in Florida,” said Rob Hink, Principal of The Spinnaker Group, Inc. and sustainability consultant for the Palm Healthcare Pavilion project. “Palm Healthcare Foundation is really a leader in demonstrating that green building projects don’t have to always be new construction, as most of them are. It is possible, and better for the environment, to disassemble and reconstruct a building in a sustainable, environmentally responsible way.”

During the first phase of the project, interior disassembly, a wide variety of materials were carefully removed in order to recycle them by donating them to local charities. Four non-profit organizations, Hospice by the Sea, Habitat for Humanity, Florida Atlantic University Wellness Center and Palm Beach Habilitation Center took away truckloads of materials, including light fixtures, hot water heaters, water fountains, sinks, ceiling tiles, doors and cabinets. “In a typical interior demolition, everything would be thrown into a dumpster and hauled away,” said Suzette W. Wexner, Palm Healthcare Foundation president. “By renovating green, we have benefited our non-profit partners in the community and saved tons of materials from landfills. Through the donation of recyclable materials, and by sorting wood, metals and other materials for alternate uses, we will be able to divert 75% of materials away from landfills—something that is so important in Florida where landfill space is premium.”

During the exterior disassembly phase, construction crews “skinned” the outside of the building, removing the windows, studs, aluminum, steel studs and drywall and segregated tons of materials for recycling.

Every step of the way, from site selection, to disassembly to reconstruction, Palm Healthcare Foundation is eligible for points toward LEED® certification status. The number of points earned designates the level of certification awarded to the project (basic, silver, gold or platinum).