Century Engineering's Hunt Valley Headquarters First in Baltimore to Earn LEED® Gold Certification
June 19, 2007

Century Engineering’s environmentally-friendly headquarters in Hunt Valley is the first project in Baltimore to be awarded a Gold-level LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the first to be approved by Baltimore County for its Property Tax Credit for High Performance Buildings. Partnering in the design with Century Engineering was Hord Coplan Macht Architects of Baltimore, who received word about the certification from the USGBC last month. Century moved into the four-story, 57,000 square foot building in July 2006.

The Gold-Level distinction makes Century’s headquarters the highest LEED® rated project in Baltimore. The USGBC awards certification on a four-tier scale, ranging from “certified,” for projects that meet basic standards, to “platinum”. Three Baltimore buildings – the Stewart’s Building downtown and two Social Security Administration facilities in Woodlawn – have earned basic certification. Statewide, a total of 15 buildings have been LEED® certified at various levels.

According to Century Engineering’s Chief Executive Officer Francis X. Smyth, the cost was about 8% higher than the cost of a comparable non-green facility. The company is expected to realize an estimated energy and water savings of $100,000 yearly. The premium to build green was further offset by the Maryland Energy Administration’s Green Building Tax Credit and Baltimore County’s Property Tax Credit for High Performance Buildings.

Among the many features that qualify Century’s headquarters for LEED® Gold status are building HVAC and electrical systems designed to cut energy consumption by 35% and plumbing design that helps reduce water consumption by 28%. Century’s decisions to purchase 100% wind-generated power, to divert 98.6% of the project’s construction waste from landfills, and to purchase hybrid vehicles for company use also earned points toward the building’s certification.