For Immediate Release
Contact: Bryan Knedler, Mayor, 301-699-3134; Jeannelle Wallace, City Manager, 301-985-6585
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"Green" Police Station Breaks-up Blight and Helps Environment

The City of Mount Rainier has converted a dusty, dingy car repair shop into an environmentally-sparkling new home for its police department. "The cramped, dilapidated, 50-year old, police facility did not meet state safety codes and could not accommodate a modern configuration," says police chief Fred Keeney. The city leaders seized on this need as an opportunity to relocate the department in a way that attacks blight on Route 1, helps revitalize business, and protects the environment. The City invested six years and $1.7 million to convert the car shop into the first "green" police facility in the nation. The new facility, located at 3249 Rhode Island Avenue, will be dedicated on February 11 at 7pm.

The building, an element of the City’s national register historic district, was not torn down but was adapted. Making this a "smart growth" project qualified it for a state grant during the Glendening Administration that funded half of its cost. The new station, together with a new traffic circle, attracted a $12 million block-long artist housing project to be developed by Artspace Projects, Inc.

A recognized environmental leader, the City also saw the project as a chance to lead-by-example in green design. This approach uses certain measures for energy, water, materials, and indoor air quality to reduce pollution, which provides benefits for building occupants, the Chesapeake Bay, and climate protection. Mayor Knedler hails the project as "the first of its kind in the nation. The green design will cut energy utility bills by 50%, which is good for the budget and the environment. I’m also thrilled by the attractive building interior, which is good for police staff morale. It is also a ‘beachhead’ in the battle against blight that helped leverage a housing development which multiplies the city investment many-fold."

Former Mayor Fred Sissine was in office at the project’s launching. He offered thanks to "state officials and the former City Councilmembers, especially Mayor Knedler, for making the project possible. The building helps the local and global environment. While national governments still debate action on climate change, Mount Rainier and others in the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign can and have taken the lead."

Project architects Jill Schick and Howard Goldstein designed an adaptive re-use of the building that "emphasizes the use of natural light through a ‘daylight corridor’ that accents the building structure, reduces the energy needs for artificial light, and greatly enhances the quality of the space." The project also reused materials on-site and installed floor tiles, wood panels, and carpets made from recycled materials. Schick-Goldstein teamed up with green design expert John Spears of the Sustainable Design Group, who noted that "a ground-source heat pump, energy-efficient windows, and a clerestory for natural daylight makes this police building a model for others nation-wide." The city is applying to the U.S. Green Building Council for certification under its Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) program. It aims to achieve a Gold (2nd highest) rating which, says Spears, "would be a very high achievement for adaptive reuse of an old building, especially when combined with the configuration needs of a police station."

The dedication of the first green police station in the United States puts Mount Rainier at the forefront of the ‘Green Building Movement’ in the Metro area. This is the third substantial Green Building project for the town and more are to come.

Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Senator Barbara Mikulski, Senator Paul Sarbanes, former Governor Parris Glendening, State Senators Nathaniel Exum and Gwendolyn Britt, project architects Shick Goldstein, and energy expert John Spears, are among the invited guests.

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