Palm Beach State College welcomes new "green" building

BELLE GLADE, Fla. -  After more than thirty years in the same facilities, the faculty and staff at Palm Beach State College's Belle Glade campus had a realization. "Why not build a green building?

We all need to be concerned about conserving our resources, and maximizing what we do with those facilities that are in place," said Marcia Hardney, the provost for Palm Beach State College's Glades Campus.

The facilities were just no longer able to hold the school's growing student body.
"It means that students out in this area are able to take courses in a variety of technical trades here in the Glades without traveling," said Hardney.

The school's trade programs were formerly housed off campus, in rented space.

"Over there it was a bit scary, because we were in the middle of a cane field. Here, it feels totally different," said Kaylani Henry, a cosmetology student.

The structure definitely is totally different. Not only is the building all new, but the technology and building materials incorporated into the design are so forward thinking, the school is hoping to become the gold standard for LEED certification.

"It's really just incorporating good design practices, which is a lot of things you want to do anyways. You want to have a space that people enjoy," said James Storms, the school's assistant manager of facilities planning, and the project manager for the new facilities.

There's enough green tech built into the Technical Education Center to keep the campus eco-friendly.

The addition of a ten-thousand gallon cistern allows the new building to use 80 percent less water than any other structure on campus.