By: Diane Benjamin
I found this one while looking for something else – the other story tomorrow.
Normal prides itself on being “green” and being environment politically correct.
Have you heard them talk about LEED Certification?
Here’s what that means according to Wikipedia:
Of course this makes construction more expensive. Normal has building codes requiring LEED compliance. (see below)
LEED construction is required except when friends are involved. Of maybe Normal was desperate to fill the empty hole in Uptown along with the spot east of the Marriott and the rules were bent to get it done.
The now Hyatt and 1 Uptown Circle (with the still empty first floor) were a package deal. Guess who was exempted from LEED standards?
The developer:
The documentation doesn’t say why the hotel was exempt but 1 Uptown Circle wasn’t. It does show everybody was more worried about the looks of the buildings than function.
See the Council action from October 21, 2013 here: Hyatt Leed waiver
Was it too expensive to build the Hyatt LEED compliant? Of did nobody care since the guests could just be charged more to cover higher energy bills?
If anybody wants to build in Normal, request a waiver from LEED. I’d love to know the answer you get.
They act high and mighty setting up this crap , to appease some and then ignore it ,, again to appease some .. If you don’t think it’s important or credible for all , then why bother to have such at all .This is what I call polishing a cow chip , doesn’t really increase value , isn’t much fun to handle , and really serves no purpose other than trying to impress folk that now the crap is better .
LEED requirements are all about eco politics,nothing more. Just another way of telling someone how to build so someone else can tell you how to live your life. Locally, this was all pushed by planning departments in order to influence behaviors. Brought back here after planners attended another expensive national conference. If it was done for the right reasons it would be a different story but it’s promoted to influence political behavior.
Sounds like OC control freaks run amuck..
Hotels are one of the worst industries in terms of sustainability and environmental practices. You’d think all the more reason for them to adhere to the LEED certification rule. But, alas, the rules don’t apply to Koos and the friends of government. Any outrage from the green warriors at the Ecology Action Center or the beautiful people at WGLT? Of course not, they can’t question Koos and the government-led Uptown utopia.