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Fisher Hall, the new library and student commons building at St. Paul’s School, has been awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, one of fewer than 5,000 buildings in the world to receive the status.
Fisher Hall has a photovoltaic rooftop and a geothermal heating and cooling system, an HVAC system that has a 29 percent reduction in energy costs from the industry baseline and a vegetative roof, among other green features.
The building’s systems will become teaching tools: They will be monitored by and added to curriculum for students at the private, independent school in Brooklandville.
The building was named for former St. Paul’s Trustee David W. Fisher, who died on July 31. Fisher was co-chair of a $25 million capital campaign at the school. A plaque detailing the LEED certification was unveiled last Saturday following a memorial service at the St. Paul’s chapel.
“Dave Fisher was a champion for environmental causes and a champion of this school,” said St. Paul’s Headmaster Thomas J. Reid, in a statement. “The building will stand as a lasting legacy to Dave, and help ensure that generations of students truly understand how we impact our environment.”
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Get ready for some new BBQ – with a cause.
This week, Mission BBQ will open at 7748 Ritchie Highway in Glen Burnie.
Selling a Texas-style brisket, pulled port sandwiches and ribs rubbed with Old Bay, the joint bills itself as “the best BBQ in America,” which is subjective, of course! Don’t take that statement to the back-road shacks of North Carolina, Memphis or even Lou Bono’s in Jacksonville, Fla. (my personal fav).
What will set Mission apart is its dedication to honoring U.S. military heroes, as well as fire fighters and police officers. Owners encourage patrons to bring in a “patch, picture or memorabilia of history” for display. For every purchase of an American Hero Cup, the Mission folks will send a $2 donation to the Wounded Warrior Project charity.
Plus, where else can you reserve a visit from BAM BAM, the restaurant’s “military inspired mobile catering machine” with a built-in smoker?
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Here’s some good news for recession-battered western Maryland.
Colliers International in Baltimore this week leased a 113,800-square-foot manufacturing plant in Hancock to Evolve Composites. The company is expected to create up to 60 jobs.
“Western Maryland’s unemployment picture is a challenge, particularly in the manufacturing sector where the state is losing jobs, and we know this transaction is important to the state of Maryland and the town of Hancock,” said Colliers’ principal Rob Freedman “We love Maryland, and we’re glad to help.”
The 21-acre plant was formally used by the Fleetwood Trailer Co., which closed in 2005. The small town of Hancock acquired the plant from Fleetwood and had been searching for a new tenant for several years as part of its job-creation program.
Evolve Composites, headquartered in Torrance, Calif., will produce lightweight concrete products at the plant.
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Sept. 15 was the official benchmark date for the completion of the Base Realignment and Closure, or BRAC, meaning 19,000 military jobs had been moved to Maryland.
The Department of Defense moves mean up to 60,000 new jobs in Maryland. Included in that figure are 8,000 at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County. Other BRAC expansions have taken place at the National Security Agency at Ft. George G. Meade in Anne Arundel County.
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TIDBITS: The Hogan Cos., headquartered in Annapolis, recently completed a sale of a 4.87-acre parcel of land to Koch Homes. The property is located off Brock Bridge Road near its intersection with Whiskey Bottom Road in Laurel. It is part of a 17-acre, $1.5 million deal put together by Hogan over the past four years for a new townhome community… Brendan Gill, vice president of MacKenzie Management Co. LLC, will receive a 2011 Developing Leaders Award from NAIOP, a commercial real estate development association. Gill, a member of NAIOP Maryland, is one of 15 commercial real estate executives under age 35 to receive the national award… Guardian Realty Investors this week hired Scheer Partners, of Rockville, to market its 50,549-square-foot building at 501 North Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg. Much of the building will soon be vacated by Kaiser Permanente, which is expanding in another Gaithersburg location. The building has three storefronts.
