U City School First in Area to Receive LEED Certification

The new , which opened to students in fall 2011, has received the prestigious honor of being named the first public elementary school in St. Louis to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

LEED provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions, according to the Green Building Council.

The St. Louis Business Journal reports that Barbara C. Jordan's features include rain gardens, window placements that maximize daylight and a high-efficiency HVAC system.

Recycled materials were used in the building’s construction.

According to the Building Council, the certification was developed in 2000 and "provides independent, third-party verification that a building, home or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality."

The funded the building through Proposition U, a $53.6M bond issue passed in April of 2009. The two-story building has 24 classrooms capable of accommodating up to 500 students, including specialized classrooms and specialty spaces that enable students to do more exploratory work.