Park Hill Support Services Center Receives Capstone Award
The Park Hill Support Services Center and Transportation Center received a 2021 Capstone Award from the Kansas City Business Journal for Sustainability. Designed to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, the Support Services Center and Transportation Center provide a streamlined and productive workplace for district faculty, while minimizing environmental impact.
The Kansas City Business Journal’s Capstone Awards recognize projects completed throughout the Kansas City Metro. We’re proud to have provided site design services for the award-winning project, creating an environmentally conscious facility for the Park Hill School District.
While we work to design all of our projects sustainably, those working on this project had a goal to achieve LEED certification, which is a rating system that evaluates the impact of a building’s design and construction on the environment.
Many factors go into the LEED certification of a building. Our firm assisted with a component of the LEED certification for this building through our site design services, incorporating ways to maximize things like rainwater and storm water retention.
“A lot of what we do day-to-day focuses on maximizing storm water usage, not wasting water,” Project Manager Jim Anderson, PE, said. “It’s an honor to win [the award].”
For this project, our firm’s design accounted for the following assessments on the LEED Certification Review Report:
- Site Development – Protect or Restore Habitat
- Open Space
- Bicycle Facilities
- Rainwater Management
- Site Assessment
- Access to Quality Transit
Due to building and site design by the architects, contractors, engineers and many more involved, the facility successfully achieved LEED certification, keeping sustainability at the forefront of the design and construction of the new buildings.
The 70,000 square foot Support Services Center houses maintenance and operations for the district, while the 21,400 square foot Transportation Center handles bus servicing and maintenance. The two facilities are located down the street from each other, providing an effective workplace for employees in the school district.
The Park Hill School District in Kansas City, Missouri currently has 11 elementary schools, three high schools, four middle schools and three other facilities. The district proposed a no-tax-increase bond issue to add the support services facility with space for maintenance and operations, as well as a transportation facility for buses.
We strive to maximize sustainability and reduce waste on every project we work on, and we are proud that we were able to contribute to the LEED certification of the Park Hill Support Services Center and Transportation Center, improving sustainability one project at a time. More about these facilities is on the Kansas City Business Journal’s website.