Sustainability has a reached a new level at Pilgrim Place. The senior community in Claremont received notice that 2 recently constructed buildings, the Norton Garden Apartments/Administration Building and the Friendship Court/Amistad Apartment Building, received a gold rating from LEED.

LEED, an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a nationally recognized program of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), which sets guidelines and standards for building structures that are environmentally sensitive and sustainable.

Jay Blatter, an architect with Hochhauser Blatter Architecture and Planning in Santa Barbara, was the principal architect on the project. Mr. Blatter describes the effort to achieve LEED certification as something that started in the initial planning process and extended all the way through completion of construction.

Some of the construction features that lead to the LEED certification included: the diversion of more than 65 percent of construction demolition waste away from land sites, concrete that uses fly ash—a reclaimed material that is a byproduct of the coal power industry, paints, sealers and adhesives with a low content of volatile organic compounds, low-flow plumbing fixtures in bathrooms and kitchens and construction features that make maximum use of available sunlight.

A third building, the Napier Center for Creative Change, received a classification as LEED Certified. “The Napier Building was an existing structure that was converted for new uses,” explained Jay Blatter. “To get that kind of ranking for a building conversion is quite remarkable.”

           “We even received points for our proximity to mass transit,” added Cuntiz.  “There are fourteen linkages to community services within a half-mile of our structures. LEED looks at everything.”

            Pilgrim Place, founded in 1915, is a senior community for 330 retired clergy, missionaries and social activists. Pilgrim Place residents are devoted to social justice, world piece, lifelong learning and preserving the environment.