The Monroe County Crime Lab Project’s main goal is to ensure that law enforcement and public safety professionals have the best possible resources available to solve and prevent crimes. This expansion and modernization project is creating nearly 400 construction jobs. Monroe County is pursuing LEED Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Highlights of the project include:

Sustainable Site The location of the Monroe County Crime Lab will have a minimal parking lot size that will provide preferred parking for carpooling. Also, a pervious concrete pavement parking lot will allow for storm water management. Light pollution reduction will be aided by very low light trespass from the site as well.

Materials & Resources An area within the building will be devoted to the storage of recyclables as part of the building’s recycling program. By the LEED calculation method, 30% of the building materials in aggregate will be of recycled material. More than 10% of the materials will be manufactured locally, and 2.5% of the products used will come from materials that are rapidly renewable.

Water Efficiency Rainwater collected from the roof will be used to supplement the water demand for flushing toilets, saving thousands of gallons of potable water annually. Potable water usage will be reduced by 40% below the standard established by the 1992 Energy Policy Act.

Energy and Atmosphere Optimized energy performance will be accomplished using a high-efficiency HVAC system, daylighting, and high-efficiency lighting systems. The building’s outdoor ventilation systems will continually monitor the quality of the indoor environment via the building’s management system and carbon dioxide sensors. The input of air will vary to maintain “fresh” conditions within the building.

Indoor Environmental Quality All paints, coatings, sealants and adhesives will meet low-VOC (volatile organic compound) standards. Carpets will meet the Carpet & Rug Institute standard and all composite woods will be free of added urea formaldehyde. Chemical storage areas are designed to include separate ventilation and major entryways will contain permanent grating systems to remove soil from foot traffic.

Once completed, this modern state-of-the-art building will be four stories and 45,000 square feet.