The congregation of the Church of St. Aloysius in Jackson, N.J., was growing, and by 2001 the 500 seats in its church, as well as the size of its school, were not big enough to accommodate everyone. The Diocese of Trenton, the owners of the church, embarked on a master plan to build a new, 1,100-seat place of worship Along with the diocese, the congregation itself was involved in approving the new master plan. Related Links: Best Of 2009 “The process had to find a way for consensus between those disparate opinions,” says Scott Erdy, principal of Erdy McHenry Architecture,

A jam-packed Citi Field – the new home of the New York Mets – is a heavy place. After all, that adds up to 45,000 baseball fans cheering atop more than 12,000 tons of structural steel, along with the 1-million-plus bricks enclosing the 1.4-million-sq-ft ballpark in Queens. Related Links: Best Of 2009 It’s not the kind of facility that typically sits atop soft, fill-based soils. But the $800-million-plus Citi Field is built over meadows with virtually no rock beneath. “There’s no bottom, essentially,” says Scott Hamburg, senior project manager for Bovis Lend Lease, half of the construction manager joint venture

The $163 million Dey Street Concourse Structural Box, part of the new Fulton Street Transit Center complex, added a concourse and subway tracks and platforms beneath Dey Street between Church Street and Broadway. The concourse will eventually connect the Transit Center and the permanent PATH terminal at the World Trade Center site. Related Links: Best Of 2009 “The successful completion of the structural box for the Dey Street underground pedestrian concourse was the result of exceptional teamwork between owner and contractor, as well as the cooperation we encountered from the community and stakeholders during construction,” says Hsin Wu, P.E., construction

The $68 million Cooper Square Hotel is part of the vanguard of sleek contemporary structures standing in mark contrast to the low-rise tenements that have characterized Manhattan’s Cooper Square since the 1850’s. Related Links: Best Of 2009 But whereas the other new buildings stand apart from the surrounding tenements, Cooper Square Hotel incorporates one of the red-brick buildings into the structure. This interesting integration of the old and the new was not by choice, but in the end added to the overall design. Original plans for the hotel called for the demolition of three brick tenements occupying the building site.

For the people of Deer Park, Long Island and its surrounding areas, the construction of the Arches during this tough economic period gives them a reason to be at least cautiously optimistic. Designed to emulate a European-themed shopping village with covered walkways, an outdoor ice skating rink and water fountains, the $180 million open air center is expected to generate millions of dollars in tax revenue, which will help alleviate the burden on the town’s residents. It has also generated hundreds of jobs, both full and part time, for local residents. Related Links: Best Of 2009 The largest outlet center

Related Links: First Impressions Professional Accreditation With the release of LEED v.3 came an upgraded version of LEED Online, a tool teams use to manage project registration and certification. Although it is still early in the process, initial experiences with the new online tools have been mixed. “The new system will be easier to navigate, once you get use to it,” says Jason Kliwinski, director of sustainable design, The Spiezle Group, Trenton, N.J.. “The interfaces are a little different but it certainly helps folks understand the process better.” But the system can be slow. “I have used it in terms

Related Links: Sustainable Classic Here’s a breakdown of the 44 points that Skanska’s Empire State Building offices garnered to earn LEED Commercial Interiors Platinum status: • 6 points for sustainable site (e.g., bike rack encouraging alternate transportation) • 2 points for water efficiency (e.g., low-flow toilets, hand sensors on faucets) • 12 points for energy and atmosphere (e.g., efficient lighting systems) • 8 points for materials and resources (e.g., construction waste recycling, recycled material use) • 16 points for indoor environmental air quality (e.g., daylight exposure, low VOC paints) • 5 points for innovation, design (e.g., green cleaning guidelines, ISO

Related Links: First Impressions LEED Online In conjunction with the release of LEED v.3, USGBC transferred the certification of LEED professionals and building certification to the Green Building Certification Institute. The process for accrediting professionals has also changed. Now there are three tiers of LEED professionals; LEED Green Associates, LEED AP+ and LEED AP Fellow. “Prior LEED accreditation was something accessible to people regardless of their role on the design team or their expertise in working with LEED and sustainable design,” explains Andy Hathaway, Director of Sustainability Consulting, Steven Winter Associates, Norwalk, Conn. “You have over 100,000 LEED accredited professionals

McGraw-Hill Construction estimates that the value of green building construction starts grew five-fold from 2005 to 2008 and will more than double over the next five years reaching $96-140 billion in 2013. Helping to fuel the growth is state and local legislation mandating green building and the integration of sustainable building practices into building codes and regulations. Russell Unger: “I think in the high-end market, green building is standard. When you go outside that market, the cost, the expertise ... is still not there.” Over the last nine years LEED has evolved and grown. Rating systems are now available for

The Empire State Building was a marvel when it debuted as the world’s tallest building in 1931. Built in 18 months, the 102-story building kicked off a race for urban construction heights that continues today. Photo: Skanska USA Skanska USA was recently awarded LEED Platinum status for the $4.6 million fit-out of its own corporate headquarters at the Empire State Building. Related Links: Getting to LEED Platinum It’s only fitting that a recent $4.6 million fit-out in the building may set the benchmark for what it costs, what it takes, and how much can be saved in the long haul