Other winners include Hillsborough County Commissioner Pat Kemp, the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, and the Suncoast Sierra Club.

TAMPA –  The U.S. Green Building Council Florida Gulf Coast Region has announced the winners of its 2017 LEEDership and Green Awards program.

The nonprofit organization’s eighth annual LEEDership Awards celebration recognized and honored those outstanding projects, inspirational businesses, dedicated volunteers and community stakeholders who are LEEDing the way to a more sustainable built environment in the Florida Gulf Coast community.  Nearly 150 guests attended the Oct. 26 awards ceremony at the Le Meridien Hotel in downtown Tampa.

Rick Fedrizzi, chairman and CEO of the International WELL Building Institute, highlighted the evening of recognition and appreciation for the Florida Gulf Coast’s green-building community as the event’s keynote speaker. Fedrizzi’s presentation focused on advancing human health through better buildings and communities, as well as the challenges worldwide of building resiliently in the face of climate change and its impact on infrastructure demands. The foundation of his speech was built on the premise that “Buildings start with a story about people.”

LEED,or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices.  LEED addresses all building types and emphasizes state-of-the-art “green” strategies in five areas:  sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality.  The awards event recognized projects and individuals that help move our region in a more sustainable, responsible and healthy direction, creating environmental, social and financial prosperity for all.

The 2017 LEEDership Award winners were:

• Outstanding Transit Program — Coast Bike Share
• Outstanding Community Project — Urban Conga Urban Interventions
• Outstanding Green Business / Consultant — REAL Building Consultants
• Outstanding Green Business / Contractor — Rokop General Contractors, Inc.
• Outstanding Green Business / Developer — Koral & Gobuty Development Co, LLC
• Outstanding Green Business / Transportation Agency — Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART)
• Outstanding Green Business / Financial — Renew Financial
• Outstanding Community Leader / Elected Official — Pat Kemp, Hillsborough county commissioner
• Outstanding Green Business Commitment — Suncoast Credit Union
• Outstanding Green Government — City of St. Petersburg
• Greenest Apple — Sustainability Committee of BOMA Greater Tampa Bay
• LEED for New Construction / Private — Auto Nation Mercedes Benz Wesley Chapel
• LEED for New Construction / Public/State — Wauchula National Guard Armory
• LEED for New Construction / Public/Local — Pasco County Utilities Administration
• LEED for New Construction / Non-Profit — Bob Sierra YMCA Gymnastics Center
• LEED for Schools — Metropolitan Ministries Patricia J. Sullivan Partnership School
• LEED for Commercial Interiors — TLC Engineering for Architecture Tampa Office
• LEED for Homes/ Community — Mirabella
• LEED for Homes / Single Family – Small — Breese Residence
• LEED for Homes / Single Family – Large — CompassHaus
• Outstanding Community Leader — Suncoast Sierra Club
• Branch Volunteer of the Year / Myakka River — Sara Kane
• Branch Volunteer of the Year / Southwest Florida — Jim Keohane
• Branch Volunteer of the Year / Tampa Bay — Thomas Wilkinson
• President’s Award — Taylor Ralph

For information about the U.S. Green Building Council Florida Gulf Coast Region, go to usgbcflorida.org.

U.S. Green Building Council Florida Gulf Coast Region | St. Petersburg | Pat Kemp | Environment | Sustainability | Tampabay News

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