Coyote Ridge First Prison Campus in Nation to Receive Gold Certification for Sustainable Design

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                October 30, 2009

OLYMPIA – Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell today received LEED® Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) making it the first prison campus in the nation to meet the Council’s standards for sustainable design.

LEED® certification is achieved by submitting project design and construction information to the USGBC which rates the project based on energy efficiency, sustainable materials, water consumption and other factors that may impact the environment. Projects are awarded Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification depending on the number of points they receive.

Coyote Ridge’s Gold certification is the first to be applied to an entire prison campus instead of a single building. John Lynch, an assistant director at the Washington Department of General Administration, confirmed this is the largest LEED® project ever completed by the State of Washington.  General Administration manages public works projects for the state.

“Washington DOC is a leader in the sustainable prisons movement,” said DOC Secretary Eldon Vail. “It’s a benefit to our bottom line when our facilities run more efficiently and it’s also a benefit to the community when our prisons and work sites are green. We hope we serve as an example that prisons can be secure and sustainable at the same time.”

Construction on the 2,048-bed medium-custody expansion began in June 2006 and was completed in October 2008 by Spokane-based Hunt/Lydig Joint Venture and designed by Integrus Architecture in association with Rosser International, MW Consulting Engineers and CH2M Hill. There are 21 buildings on the new campus including housing units, medical facilities, administrative space and Correctional Industries operations.

“The prison was designed with the LEED® certification in mind,” Director of Capital Programs David Jansen said. “Our Project Director, Jack Olson, worked closely with the builders throughout this process to identify areas where we could incorporate sustainable features and cost savings.” 

The Department received LEED® certifications for buildings at Monroe Correctional Complex, Airway Heights Corrections Center and Washington State Penitentiary. With the latest Coyote Ridge award, the Department of Corrections now has 12 buildings that are silver certified and 22 that are gold certified.

Additional project details can be found on the Capital Programs Web site.

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Contact:  Rowlanda Cawthon, Communications Department (360) 725-8804

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