YMCA of the Rockies is seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for the three new lodges it’s building as part of a $40 million expansion.
The organization hired Neenan Archistruction to design and build the lodges at the YMCA campus outside Estes Park.
Using what’s known as “panelized” construction, the company had the walls manufactured in a Severance factory and assembled on site, eliminating 80 percent of the waste typically generated during a project’s framing, said Mark Holdt, vice president for planning and project development at the YMCA.
“We’re excited that they honor the mountain stick architecture from the outside, but inside they are really state-of-the-art in terms of sustainability,” Holdt said.
The lodges also will receive LEED points for using Colorado flagstone and granite as well as low-emitting stains, paints and carpets.
LEED is a point-based system where building projects are graded for satisfying specific green building criteria in six categories. Platinum is highest, gold next, then silver.
“It increased our construction cost by 2 percent, but over time, the energy savings will more than compensate us for that,” Holdt said.
The 100-room Longs Peak Lodge opened in early June. The smaller Rams Horn and Emerald Mountain lodges, which will add another 100 rooms, will open in early spring.
“We can sleep about 3,500 people now,” said Laurie Van Horn, spokewoman for the YMCA.
The project also includes a conference center with seating for 1,200 and two new eight-bedroom family cabins.
Donor-funded projects include the $1.2 million Legett Christian Center and the $1.2 million Mootz Family Craft and Design Center.
The new conference center and lodges are behind the Ruesch Auditorium. Twenty-eight structures were relocated or removed to make way for the new buildings.
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com
