VIRGINIA BEACH (AP) - - A new environmental center that generates its own energy and boasts that it produces no sewage or runoff opened Friday on a prime piece of waterfront real estate that was once destined to be filled with condominiums.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation held a grand opening for its Brock Environmental Center at Pleasure House Point on Friday. The 118 acres of land, tidal marsh and maritime forest by the Lynnhaven Inlet is just off of the Chesapeake Bay.
In 2008, the undeveloped tract of land was slated for the development of about 1,100 new high-rise condominiums and townhouses. But after the housing market collapsed, the property was foreclosed on and the foundation, Virginia Beach and the Trust for Public Land purchased it in 2012 to preserve it for open space and environmental education.
The $21 million, one-story building will be used for the foundation's environmental education programs that provide outdoor learning experiences for teachers and students. The center also has meeting rooms for community discussions and houses the foundation's Hampton Roads' staff and that of the Virginia Beach-based conservation group, Lynnhaven River Now.
The building itself was designed to be part of the center's education process. Much of the material used to construct the center came from recycled materials, such as old bleachers, gym floors, sinks, lockers and cabinets.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation calls it one of the most environmentally intelligent buildings in the world. It was designed to meet the strict standards of the Living Building Challenge, a green building certification program sponsored by the International Living Future Institute.
Among other things, it generates all of its energy from solar panels, wind turbines and geothermal wells. Its toilets are waterless and the solid waste in them will be turned into compost that will be used on landscaping. The center's tap water comes from rain cisterns.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation President Will Baker offered a toast to more than 100 guests at the center with a glass of the center's tap water. He said he's not aware of another commercial-scale building in the continental United States to have a health department's approval to use rain water for drinking water.
After taking a big sip from a clear glass, he yelled out "Whew! Can you tell I'm excited?"
Typically, a building built near water contributes to stormwater runoff that results in flooding and polluted waterways. But the building is raised 14-feet-above sea level and sits about 200 feet beyond the water. The foundation says the natural landscaping around and underneath the building will serve as a type of sponge to absorb the rainfall.
"We hoped to raise the bar for energy-efficient, environmentally smart buildings when we envisioned the Brock Environmental Center," Baker said in a statement. "And I think we've done that with this remarkable center."
CBF will host a grand opening of the center on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Activities will include building tours, fish printing, seining for Bay critters, boat trips, Lynnhaven River NOW information, live music and more.
