Pulte's Press Release on "Greening" SCA Recreation Center
Facility to be first LEED-certified of its kind in Greater Las Vegas Area
Groundbreaking ceremony set for 1 p.m., Oct 30
Henderson, NV – Oct 2008 - The first LEED-certified recreation center in the greater Las Vegas area will break ground at Sun City Anthem by Del Webb this month.
The 20,000+square-foot facility will boast a myriad of amenities, but also feature recycled materials, energy-conserving construction and waste recycling, and a site design that reduces negative impacts on water, air quality and pollution.
Known for its state-of-the-art amenities, Pulte Homes’ Del Webb communities wanted to make the new Sun City Anthem facility unique. Along with Douglas Fredrickson Architects and contractor TWC, the vision of a green facility started taking shape.
The building will be constructed using a set of standards for environmental sustainability developed by the United States Green Building Council based on criteria established in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.
“This is something unique to recreation centers of this kind and it will be a hallmark of the facility for years to come,” said Jeremy Fritz, Vice President of Land Development for Pulte Homes, who said the design concept and programming is a collaborative effort between a team of experts and the HOA board of directors.
The complex will sit on nearly 8 acres and feature indoor and outdoor pools, multi-purpose rooms, fitness center, men’s and women’s locker rooms, warm water pool and spa, tennis courts, bocce courts, ramadas and much more. The facility is expected to be complete in the fall of 2009.
“We are thrilled to launch the building of this beautiful rec center, and the green component makes it even more of a point of pride for the Sun City Anthem community and greater area,” said Roz Berman, President of the Sun City Anthem Board of Directors.
With 2008 marking the 10th anniversary of the Sun City community and new home sales ending, Berman said the commitment by Pulte to build a state-of-the-art facility is impressive. “We are very pleased that Pulte has done the right thing by working with us to design and construct a facility that addresses all five categories of LEED building.”
LEED, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance “green” buildings.
LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. All five categories have been addressed in the design of the Phase 3 Recreation Center.
Photovoltaic solar panels are an integral part of the design and will generate approximately 21,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually to reduce the amount of energy required to operate the facility. The system will offset heating costs for the indoor pool and warm water pool and is expected to meet approximately 90% of the indoor pool heating requirements.
Other features of the building include:
Pulte’s Las Vegas Division has a history of innovation in green building. Pulte was the first production homebuilder in the nation to meet a challenge posed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to the homebuilding industry for more high performance, energy efficient homes. The initiative, called the Builders Challenge, recognizes the best energy performance, quality, comfort, health and safety.
GROUNDBREAKING EVENT DETAILS:
1 p.m., Thursday, October 30
Sun City Anthem – site of third recreation center
Located in the southeast corner of the larger Anthem community, the groundbreaking will take place on the northwest corner of the recreation center construction site.
Best access from Somersworth Drive and Roseburg Way.
Reception following at Independence Center, 2460 Hampton Road.
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