The Sultana Education Foundation’s new center constructed by Emory Hill & Company, New Castle, has been awarded LEED Platinum certification, the highest award from the U.S. Green Building Council.
The award is the second LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) platinum certification to be won by Emory Hill, which has built more than ten LEED certified projects in the Mid-Atlantic region including the Delaware Technical Community College “Energy House,” the Ferris School Juvenile Multi-Purpose Facility and several Royal Farms stores. It is also the second building on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to earn LEED platinum certification.
The Sultana Foundation’s 8,500 square foot Richard and Virginia Holt Education Center located in Chestertown, MD’s Historic District opened Aug. 1, 2016, serving as the base of operations for many of the foundation’s educational and environmental programs.
The project features a newly constructed building that was attached to the existing historic foundation center and includes: a 1,000 square foot geography classroom for program activities, lectures and special events for up to 120 people; a state-of-the-art Wet Lab to support higher-level science programs for school groups and eco-tourism programs for the public; a 1,000 square foot lecture hall for large student groups, teacher training conferences and public events; a project shop for environmental science learning, boatbuilding and maintenance activities for the foundation’s floating classroom, the historic Sultana schooner; and offices accommodating a growing staff.
Cutting-edge features in each part of the building include the world’s largest high-resolution map of the Chesapeake Bay embedded in the main floor; a first-of-its-kind Geographic Information Systems projection system with a high-power ceiling mounted projector capable of displaying an almost infinite variety of geographic data on the floor map; translucent graphic walls; a series of brackish water “estuariums” for specimen retention in the Wet Lab; wireless microscopes; and a greenhouse area for plants and aquatic vegetation.
Emory Hill & Company is the commercial construction division of the Emory Hill Companies which provide the Mid-Atlantic area with commercial and residential real estate services including commercial brokerage, construction, property management, maintenance and residential sales.