Comments on: Crowne Plaza applies to be Jacksonville’s first green hotel

By: Tom Merten

Tom Merten — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 22:43:40 +0000

The state of Florida, thanks to Gov. Christ’s executive order, now mandates that employees on state business stay at lodging that is state certified as green. Same goes for state meetings held at hotels/motels/bed and breakfasts. In Orlando people of the Mouse have been all over this getting their lodges certified. Jacksonville now has 3 certified including our 2 guest room b&b. We are seeing more business because of our certification (8/18/07) but we were green decades before we even became a b&b. Our solar water heater is 27 years old and still kicking patootie. By the way, there is LEED certification for residences, both existing and new construction. A recent guest of ours is an artichect from Dallas and is designing several LEED commercial projects. He said the entire LEED certification process is slow and cumbersome and can lengthen the design/construction process significantly. Leed certification is, admittedly, quite rigorous. Jason does have a point when he says that the Florida Green Lodging Program is more concerned about dealing with Florida’s specific climate and many months of air conditioning. LEED wants you to use Low-E (emissivity) glass in windows of all four orientations. In Jacksonville it makes little sense to use Low-E glass on north facing windows since the sun only shines on north facing windows for about two weeks a year in August. Better to use regular double or triple glazed windows on the north side and use the money saved by not using Low-E for measures that will actually save energy and money. Low-E glass is definitely a good idea in Jax if the south, east and west facing windows are not shaded by overhangs or trees. Still, despite each certification program having some short comings, both are helping preserve our environment.

By: Joey Marchy

Joey Marchy — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 12:18:11 +0000

Nice tip Jason! Thanks.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 01:12:50 +0000

We just stayed at the Jenks House Bed & Breakfast in Riverside (on Post Street) - they were certified as a Green Lodge on the same day as Crowne Plaza. Great alternative to the Plaza for any “green” conscious travelers.

By: wrwjax

wrwjax — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 18:23:54 +0000

Well Jim, that’s really mature of you.

By: jim draper

jim draper — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 21:59:47 +0000

Green? Good color choice, it certainly is ugly the way it is.
Can anything with an artificial “e” ever be truly green?
Greene? C’mon now!!!!
OK…..let’s give them a “g” for effort.

By: jason

jason — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:37:49 +0000

Madeline,

I wasn’t so much responding to your post, as much as I was just putting my 2 cents in on leeds vs fgbc’s guidelines….we’re definitely on the same page though.

By: madeleine

madeleine — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:45:26 +0000

I certainly didn’t mean to suggest that we jump full-bore into LEEDS certifications, but merely meant to suggest it as a sort of goal/model to look towards (and wow, nice spelling on my part BTW, certainly says something for re-reading what you’re about to post for the whole world to see).

And yes, first meeting the FL guidlines would be desirable indeed.

By: jason

jason — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:35:39 +0000

I think more importantly than trying for leeds certification, which is a nationwide set of guidelines, it is more important to strive to meet the standards of the Florida Green Building Coalition, which obviously takes in more consideration for the climate and characteristics of Florida. Also, as of now, there is no leeds certification for residential, but I believe there will be one within the next year or two.

By: Downtownparks

Downtownparks — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:22:40 +0000

I understand SRG Homes will be building their homes to LEEDS specs.

By: SustainableJax

SustainableJax — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:15:05 +0000

I just posted a bit of a rant about greening the tourism industry yesterday myself. I agree that any step forward is a good move. Let’s hope more hotels follow, and that if they decide to build a convention center, they build it smart, green, sustainable from the get-go.