September 18, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 13 Bolger Community Center earns ‘green building’ award Bolger Community Center earns ‘green building’ award Midland Park’s Bolger Community Center on the Marlow Park property at 445Godwin Avenue, will receive a special award from the U.S. Green Building Coun- cil’s New Jersey Chapter at an Oct. 9 gala at the NJ Performing Arts Center in Newark. Due to open at the end of this year, the center is being recognized in the USGBC NJ’s not-for-profit commercial category. “We are proud of this award. It is our hope that this project will help inspire others to rethink their projects and work toward more ‘green’ buildings,” said JT Bolger, president of the Bolger Foundation, which is providing the funding. “Non-prof- its that own buildings should see this as a way to help them lower operating costs and in turn free up more dollars to put towards their mission,” he added. His father, David Bolger, inspired the project. Project Architect Patrick LaCorte of Peter Wells Architecture, submitted the successful application. “The project is a wonderful combination of philanthropy, preservation, and green building design,” LaCorte told the USGBC NJ Nominating Committee. “The building is a landmark barn structure that is being rehabilitated into a much needed new facil- ity for the Midland Park Ambulance Corps and community meeting space for the Bor- ough of Midland Park. The Ridgewood-based Bolger Foun- dation purchased the building, hired an architect and engineers to design the reha- bilitation, and is paying the entire cost of the project, LaCorte noted. Upon comple- tion of the construction, the building will be donated to the borough. According to LaCorte, JT Bolger directed the design team to utilize an energy efficient geothermal system for heating and cooling the building and to seek a minimum of LEED Silver Certification. The building was designed to be energy and water effi- cient, and the team worked to maximize indoor air quality, and to maximize the use of locally harvested and high-recycled con- tent materials and certified wood. “The team packed the exterior walls and roof with foam and fiber insulation and specified LED light fixtures in as many areas of the building as possible,” LaCorte said. “As a result of this strategy, the build- ing was awarded all 19 of 19 LEED Energy & Atmosphere energy optimization points. The architect said the building will be a “role model to the community” as it will be reinvented as a community building, but will still be preserved as a landmark. He pointed to the use of repurposed timbers as decorative ceiling beams and wood siding as window and door casing and wall base. La Corte said the building would serve as an example of how sustainable build- ings can reduce energy and operating costs and therefore taxpayer dollars. He said the majority of light fixtures are LED for maxi- mum energy efficiency, and are controlled by occupancy sensors for minimum energy use. “In addition, the building will have low VOC carpeting, and no-VOC paints, demonstrating that these types of healthy, sustainable finishes are now readily avail- able in the marketplace and contribute to a healthier interior environment,” he said. The converted barn structure is two sto- ries and 6,000 square feet. Plans call for the first floor to be used for the ambulance corps’ vehicle storage, dispatch, business offices, and meeting space. The second floor will contain a 1,500 square foot meet- ing room. Accessory spaces for the meeting room include a commercial-grade kitchen, barrier-free bathrooms, and storage space. “The meeting room is located in the upper loft of the barn and will maintain the loft’s cathedral ceiling, exposing most of the existing wood wall and roof timbers,” the architect stated. “In order to make the building fully handicapped accessible, a new elevator will be inserted. Much of the building has been reinforced with steel and engineered wood members to bring it up to current-day structural code requirements.”