New Buffalo Grove pool LEED certified

The newly renovated natatorium at Buffalo Grove High School received LEED Silver certification, making it the first facility in Northwest Suburban High School District 214 to achieve the environmentally friendly rating.

The swimming pool project was completed in August 2014, but the LEED Silver certification was presented to District 214 officials at Thursday's school board meeting.

"It was a massive undertaking for the team involved," said Ted Birren, the district's director of operations.

LEED - Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design - is an independent verification of the build's green features based on a points system.

Brian Imus, executive director of the U.S. Green Building Council Illinois Chapter, presented the award to District 214 officials and contractors who worked on the project.

Illinois has the most LEED-certified square footage of any state in the nation, Imus said.

The $11 million renovation of Buffalo Grove's pool replaced the original facility built in 1973 with a 29,000-square-foot natatorium with more lanes, a deeper pool, more seating, concessions, bathrooms and more.

According to Pepper Construction's website, the project included water use reduction, green power, certified wood, green housekeeping, green education and sustainable material resources, all of which contributed to the certification.

Birren said there were minimal costs associated with pursuing the LEED certification but that the long-term savings would be beneficial to the district.

Three District 214 high schools - Rolling Meadows, Prospect and Hersey - do not have swimming pools. In 2014, the board approved building a pool at Prospect High School with excess reserve funds as part of a larger $45 million capital improvements program that will bring updated facilities and programs throughout the district.

School board President Bill Dussling said the Buffalo Grove project was a way for the district to model the good citizenship that officials hope their students will practice once they leave high school.

"We not only just talk about it, but we walk it as well; that's what this demonstrates," Dussling said. "It took a lot of work to do it, so we appreciate the staff's effort."