Juvenile Facility Awarded LEED Gold Certification

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — A new juvenile justice facility in Alameda County was officially awarded LEED gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, making it the first detention center in the United States to achieve that level of LEED certification.


The facility (featured in Correctional News May/June 2007) opened in April and features detention areas, courtrooms, classrooms and recreation space.


The project was built with a design-build partnership with Hensel Phelps/HOK serving as the design-build firm, Vanir/Cornerstone serving as construction manager and Beverly Prior Architects serving as associate architect.


The project received 43 points during the certification process — 39 to 51 points are required for LEED gold certification. The facility received a perfect score in the categories of energy and atmosphere, and innovation and design process.









(Above) Artwork is located throughout the interior and exterior of the building.  (Below) The juvenile justice facility received 43 points during the LEED-certification process.


The facility includes the following sustainable design concepts:



  • Water-efficient irrigation technology is expected to reduce water consumption by more than 50 percent, which could save more than 5 million gallons annually.
  • Waterless urinals and water-efficient plumbing fixtures are expected to reduce water consumption by 41 percent, saving more than 2 million gallons annually.
  • The building complies with Title 24 requirements (more stringent than national standards), and is nearly 66 percent more efficient than the baseline, saving 500 kW annually.
  • An 850 kW solar panel array on the rooftop provides more than 60 percent of the building energy demands, more than 1,000 MW annually.
  • The project contracted to purchase all of the building energy needs equivalent to 2,629 MW from wind generation.
  • Ninety-three percent of construction waste was recycled and diverted from landfill disposal.
  • Site grading equipment used 23,800 gallons of bio-diesel fuel, saving 200 tons of CO2.