The U.S. Green Building Council’s North Carolina and South Carolina chapters honored the Raleigh Law Enforcement Training Center as one of eight recipients of its Community Leaders Awards. These prestigious awards celebrate excellence in high-performance, healthy design and building, environmental stewardship and community impact. They also serve to highlight the green building initiatives of community projects in the Carolinas, the area’s organizations and local members.

The project received the Building Design and Construction Project Award, which recognizes a design and construction project that demonstrates the use of new technologies and strategies to push the envelope of green design and to meet project challenges in an innovative way.

The city and design team prioritized sustainability throughout the 60,000-square-foot project. Sustainable design features include a geothermal HVAC system, occupancy sensors, tubular skylights, electric vehicle charging stations and a solar-ready roof constructed with highly reflective materials. Engineers incorporated efficient fixtures and a city-supplied non-potable water source to reduce energy costs by 25 percent and reduce potable water use by nearly 80 percent.

Designers selected responsibly sourced products, including low-emitting materials used during construction. Together, the design team and general contractor diverted from landfills 85 percent of construction waste. Permanent entryway systems, MERV 13 filters, and carbon dioxide monitors will further improve indoor air quality for occupant health. The project was completed in 2021 and earned LEED Gold certification in 2022.