GREEN MEANS RED

And so it goes for an "ambitious" LEED Platinum-certified construction concept in Independence, Oregon. It seems banks weren't loony enough to buy into the need for a 57,000 square foot mixed-use LEED Platinum building in the heart of Polk County.



By LEED Platinum, for the uninitiated, I mean substantial construction cost add-ons for the highest level of new development energy efficiency in windows, lay-out, green roof, water re-use, etc. And without actually reducing energy use!

Since Independence - home of Western Oregon U and not much else - is not tax increment rich, the 57,000 square foot project has been stalled since late last year and addition to the two-story skeleton will not likely resume in the near future. So instead of local subsidy of boondoggles such as this, the developer is going to get the State and Feds to foot the bill

Due diligence, indeed. How much in public resources must be wasted on an "energy efficient" building that doesn't reduce energy use? Every dollar in public subsidy for this joke represents tax revenue on economic activity that used unknown amounts of energy, all in waste to support lunacy like this.