KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — Talk about comeback stories. Not that long ago, East Hall at WMU was a drafty old barn. Now its an environmental showcase.
It was the university’s oldest building and one of its least efficient. The radiators that heated the classrooms would bang so loudly, you couldn’t hear the professors, and when it became too expensive to operate, it sat vacant for years.
This week, the newly remodeled, renamed and repurposed Heritage Hall was awarded LEED Platinum Status…the highest ranking a building can get for energy efficiency. It’s the only building in the Kalamazoo area with a platinum rating and one of only a dozen in Michigan.
“We set out to honor our campus and community’s history and showcase how that history can be leveraged with the use of technology to build an energy efficient future,” says WMU President John M. Dunn. “The LEED Platinum certification is one acknowledgement that we’ve accomplished both goals. I’m proud of our business and facilities teams who worked with historic preservation specialists and outstanding design and construction professionals to make our goals become realities.”
They plan a small ceremony later this month to hang the plaque awarding the ranking.
