MAKING LEED ND HAPPEN FOR YOUR DEVELOPMENT

After years of success with its LEED® rating systems for buildings, the USGBC has rolled out the new LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND) Standard. Last year, the USGBC’s Detroit Regional Chapter LEED Neighborhood Development Committee conducted the well-attended LEED ND Forum I, “MAKING LEED® ND HAPPEN IN YOUR COMMUNITY”, aimed at the professional planning community.

With the momentum gained from Forum I, the Detroit Regional Chapter of the USGBC is now ready to start demonstrating the advantages of LEED ND to the wider real estate development and investment communities with LEED ND Forum II, “MAKING LEED® ND HAPPEN FOR YOUR DEVELOPMENT”. The DRC has assembled top experts in the field, putting together an intensive one day interactive workshop packed with practical strategies and tools for developers and financiers to understand how LEED ND brings value and higher returns, and how to begin implementing it in local projects. Participants - who will include developers, lenders, investors, planners, consultants, and government officials - will come away with a solid foundation on the LEED ND Standard, its underlying principles, and the advantages it can bring to building projects. Specific project case studies will demonstrate the real-world success of LEED ND, and planners will be on hand to explain how to overcome zoning and regulatory issues.

The event will begin with an Opening Presentation by Doug Farr, FAIA one of the authors of LEED ND and a pre-eminent authority in the field of Smart Growth. Doug will give a concise overview of the new LEED ND rating system. Following this, attendees will have their choice of participating in three of the six breakout sessions, where expert discussion leaders will present a series of critical topics and lead lively question and answer periods. As an alternative, there will also be an opportunity to observe a panel of LEED ND experts conduct a real-life workshop that will examine the potential for a portion of Detroit’s historic Eastern Market to become the City’s first LEED-ND Project. The event will conclude with an inspirational address by Dean Glen S. LeRoy of Lawrence Technological University, followed by an opportunity to network with fellow developers and investors to compare notes.

MAKING LEED® ND HAPPEN FOR YOUR DEVELOPMENT - How Developers Can Leverage Its Advantages to Add Value and Higher Investment Returns to their Projects promises to be one of the most important events of the year for those professionals & development who want to be at the forefront of the gathering revolution in community development and aspire to be instrumental in making it happen in their projects.
 
WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
Developers, Lenders, Real Estate Investors, Economic and Community Development Directors, Architects and Planners, Planning & Zoning and Building Officials, Community Advocacy Organizations, Students and Faculty, & Urban Designers.

CONTINUING EDUCATION:
AIA, AICP, and GBCI Continuing Education Opportunities will be available either directly through the Detroit Regional Chapter or by self-reporting to your professional organization. Visit the event web site regularly for additional information.

Complete event information, speaker schedule and online registration is available at http://www.usgbcdetroit.org/index.php/calendar/event/411/Making-LEED-Neighborhood-Development-Happen-at-your-Development