Who:
Paul Ferguson, Chairman, Arlington County Board
Frank Wilson, Chairman, Arlington School Board
Dr. Robert G. Smith, Superintendent, Arlington Public Schools
Nigel Howard, Vice-President, U.S. Green Building Council

What:
Dedication of Arlington’s first public building to be certified “green” by the U.S. Green Building Council.

When:
Wednesday, September 10, 2003, 10:00 a.m.

Where:
Langston-Brown School and Community Center
2121 N. Culpeper St.
[at the intersection with Lee Highway]
Arlington, Virginia

Background on Arlington’s Green Building Initiative:
Arlington is going 'green!' From community centers to private office buildings, and from new purchasing practices to long-standing community planning, Arlington County has made the commitment to being a steward of its environment.

Arlington County has adopted the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System as a way to measure the energy and environmental performance of buildings in the County. The LEED rating system allots points in five specific categories for environmentally beneficial building materials and design, in categories such as site location, water efficiency, energy and the atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.

Arlington County has several projects registered with the LEED program. Each project is being targeted to qualify for a LEED Silver rating upon completion. Learn more at: www.co.arlington.va.us/des/epo/green.htm.

Langston Brown School and Community Center
The Langston-Brown Center is a 50,000-square foot, three-story school and community center. The building’s signature feature is two 11,000-gallon tanks to capture rainwater from the roof, which will be used for landscape irrigation. Other features include extensive interior daylighting with sunshades to control heating from the hot summer sun. In designing the building, only paints, fabrics and adhesives that give off low levels of toxins were used.

Langston-Brown is the first LEED-certified building to open in Arlington and in the Commonwealth of Virginia. A joint project of Arlington County and Arlington Public Schools, it is one of the few LEED-certified schools and/or community centers in the nation.

The building will be a true School and Community Center, housing Head Start preschool classes, an Arlington Public Schools High School Continuation Program, as well as teen and senior citizens recreation programs. The classrooms, meeting rooms, gymnasium, two children's play areas, tennis court, basketball court, and community picnic pavilion in the building and surrounding grounds will become the focus of learning and leisure activities for Arlingtonians of all ages.