Austin Neighborhood Earns LEED-ND Silver

The new Mueller neighborhood of Austin, Texas recently received a Silver certification from the USGBC according to the guidelines of LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND), according to a recent article.

The new neighborhood is one of the first developments in the country to earn the designation, which promotes sustainability for whole neighborhoods and larger mixed-use projects. Mueller is at least twice the size of most other pilot projects to be certified under the new designation, according to the article.

Mueller, a master-planned community located on 700 acres of land formerly occupied by Austin’s old airport, is a joint public-private project created by the city of Austin and developer Catellus, and shaped by community input over the course of nearly two decades.

"Mueller's strength as a green community begins with its central location, which helps increase urban density, slow Central Texas sprawl, and, ultimately, reduce commute times and auto emissions," said Gail Vittori, a nationally recognized expert and co-director of the Austin-based Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, a non-profit education, research, and demonstration organization specializing in life-cycle planning and design."Yet Mueller has also achieved many sustainable milestones along the way in terms of its land use, building design, construction efforts, and property owner commitments. All of these endeavors have resulted in a comprehensive approach to sustainability."

When complete, Mueller will include nearly 4,600 homes, a town center district, four million square feet of commercial space, 650,000 square feet of retail space, and 140 acres of parks and open space. Plans for rail transit in the neighborhood remain a possibility as well, the article notes.

Learn more about Mueller, on the development’s website.

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Chris Timmerman
Contributing Writer
Green Education Services
www.greenedu.com