SUMMERVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA The first hotel to be built using Marriott International’s green prototype will be Courtyard Charleston/Summerville, set to open in early 2012, the company says.
Marriott’s goal is to have 300 LEED-certified hotels by 2015. Marriott is the first hotel company to launch a green prototype that has been preapproved by the U.S. Green Building Council as part of its LEED Volume program, meaning that any Marriott hotel that follows these plans will earn basic LEED certification, or possibly higher, upon USGBC final approval.
“This new program packages all the basic requirements for LEED certification in a prototype,” says Karim Khalifa, senior vice president of architecture and construction for Marriott International. “It saves our owners valuable time and money in the planning process and allows us to provide a greener portfolio of hotels for our guests.”
Prototype Saves Time, Money
Marriott says the green hotel prototype for the Courtyard brand will save roughly US$100,000, six months in design time and up to 25% percent energy and water savings for its owners. To develop the green hotel prototype, Marriott was guided by Courtyard Pittsburgh Settlers Ridge in Pennsylvania, which will open this fall and is registered for LEED certification.
Based on the results of the Courtyard brand prototype, Marriott has plans to create similar green prototypes for its Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, SpringHill Suites and Fairfield Inn brands.
Currently, Marriott has nearly 50 hotels across all brands that are LEED-certified or registered by the USGBC.
Courtyard Charleston/Summerville is part of a joint venture between Blanchard & Calhoun Commercial of Augusta, Georgia, and MeadWestvaco of Summerville, South Carolina. The hotel will launch as part of the first phase of The Parks of Berkley, a community consisting of 5,000 acres and one of the largest planned developments in the Southeastern United States.