LEED®

Materials

Lake Pointe includes on-site recycling for all residents. But, reducing solid waste from the community started long before the first resident moved in. From the initial framing designs through the last day of construction, efforts were made to minimize the amount of waste sent to a landfill. This was accomplished by paying close attention to not creating waste in the first place (for example, by buying materials in precut lengths), in addition to focusing on recycling or diverting construction waste to other useful purposes.

Also, an emphasis was placed on using rapidly renewable or recycled content materials. Whether this was Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified lumber or pre-owned office furniture, the goal was to ensure that everything in the building was procured with the lowest environmental impact possible.

Health

Unfortunately, many of our buildings make us sick. Consider lead paint and asbestos, which were in common use in the U.S. until just a few decades ago. Lesser known, but still harmful, chemicals continue to be used in buildings around the country. Examples include formaldehyde in engineered wood products and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in paints and adhesives. According to the International Living Future Institute (an affiliate of the U.S. Green Building Council) there are still over forty chemicals commonly used in the building industry under hundreds of different trade names that are known to harm us.

Lake Pointe has made a tremendous effort to avoid as many of these chemicals as possible, including formaldehyde and VOCs. The result is that residents can breath easier and feel better.