A national trend toward sustainable "green" building is making its way to Helena.

Several area buildings are on track to earn LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, and more are coming. Among those on the way is the new Montana State Fund building downtown, expected to be complete next spring.

The U.S. Veterans Benefit Administration Building at Fort Harrison is believed to be the first building in the Helena area to achieve LEED certification. The $4.8 million building was completed in 2007, but it only received its official certification a few months ago.

Designed by CWG Architects and built by Diamond Construction, the building is the first new Veterans Affairs building in the country to earn certification.

"The whole idea is less impact on the environment," said Phil Vinton, Diamond's project manager on the VA building. "I like to think the company as a whole helped the environment, helped the owners lower their energy costs and provided a better work environment for the workers."

The USGBC currently lists just 12 LEED certified buildings in Montana and none in Helena (though the Veterans Benefit Administration Building is due to be listed). The Bozeman Public Library, the Sweetgrass Port of Entry and the Northern Plains Resource Council's Home on the Range in Billings are certified.

Dozens more projects in Montana are registered, meaning they are in the pipeline with an eventual goal of certification. The Exploration Works building and Helena Aviation Readiness Center are on that list, along with the State Fund project.

"Many of the LEEDs are coming from the federal government, and the state governments are looking at it to some extent," said Dean Bjerke, Diamond president. "On the private side, we haven't seen as much activity there, but everyone, even residential, is interested in being more green."

While energy efficiency is an important component, the LEED certification process analyzes at every aspect of a project, from site selection (using previously undeveloped land is discouraged, and impact on ecosystems and waterways is measured) to recycling of building waste to using paints, caulking and other substances that are low in toxins.

Builders are expected to acquire as many materials as possible from within a 500-mile radius of the project, to cut down on transportation costs and thus greenhouse emissions. The quality of the work environment is paramount, with natural light and air quality earning high marks.

Providing for alternative transportation is rewarded as well: Vinton said the VA project got credit for providing car pool parking spots, bicycle storage and showers for employees who bike or walk to work.

Vinton said typically, a LEED project will cost between 5 and 8 percent more than a project using traditional building standards.

"I'd like to think that will come down" as more projects shoot for LEED certification, he said. "The problem we ran into was that it was new to our area."

Bjerke said that while green building may seem to be an emerging trend, in some ways it's a return to the way things used to be done.

"I was raised on a small farm in South Dakota, and I never knew what a new nail looked like until I started working here," he said. "We reused everything. It wasn't called green, but it was just a lot of economy in making choices."

John Harrington: 447-4080 or john.harrington@helenair.com.

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