Media Contact: Joan Collins at Joan Collins Publicity-608- 222-2899
MADISON, Wis. —The first phase at the Resilience Research Center, under construction on Badger Road, just south of the beltline, has qualified for a $25,133 energy efficiency financial incentive from Focus on Energy and Madison Gas & Electric (MG&E).
The Resilience Research Center is the first project of its kind in the nation and is looking to obtain a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum building certification. The building’s energy efficiency upgrades are expected to provide a 57 percent reduction in annual energy cost compared to a standard commercial building, according to Kate Stalker, project director for the Resilience Research Center. Some of the energy efficient features include day lighting, a ground source heat pump system to heat and cool the building, and Light Emitting Diode (LED) exterior lighting.
Not only is the Resilience Research Center energy efficient, but the construction process is sustainable, reusing more than 90 percent of the materials from the old building demolition. Bachmann Construction, Madison, is the general contractor.
The Resilience Research Center is transforming a vacant school building into a neighborhood support center that will house an urban agriculture and project-based charter Badger Rock Middle School with greenhouses, rooftop gardens, and a kitchen that incorporates job training and education services. The center will be a research facility for efforts such as MG&E energy services to test and demonstrate alternative energy approaches.
Tom Dunbar, executive director of the Center for Resilient Cities (a nonprofit organization with offices in Madison and Milwaukee), said “the Focus on Energy grant helps breathe new life into a distressed South Madison neighborhood, while encouraging other communities around the nation to explore energy efficiencies based on the Resilience Research Center model.”
More than 25 Madison-area businesses are involved in the development and construction of the new Resilience Research Center. http://www.resilientcities.org
About Focus on Energy
Focus on Energy works with eligible Wisconsin residents and businesses to install cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Focus information, resources, and financial incentives help to implement projects that otherwise would not be completed, or to complete projects sooner than scheduled. Its efforts help Wisconsin residents and businesses manage rising energy costs, promote in-state economic development, protect our environment, and control the state’s growing demand for electricity and natural gas. For more information call 800.762.7077 or visit focusonenergy.com .
About The Resilience Research Center
The center, the first of its kind in the country, is a living laboratory integrating education, agriculture, energy and research, serving 5500 residents in a formally distressed neighborhood. Lessons learned will be transferable to other communities around the U.S. It s designed and being built to LEED Platinum Certification. The first phase, currently under construction, will include a charter school, neighborhood center, commercial kitchen, and roof garden. Several Madison-based partners and suppliers are involved. Bachmann Construction is the general contractor. http://www.resilientcities.org/Resilient_Cities/RRC.html
About The Center for Resilient Cities
The non-profit organization, with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, helps cities adapt to social, economic, environmental, and climate change. Since 1996, the Center has protected or restored more than 300 urban acres and has created green infrastructure plans in more than 1,500 urban acres throughout Wisconsin. The organization builds robust and thriving urban communities that are healthy, just, economically viable and environmentally sound. http://www.reslientcities.org
