Pan-Jam hotel goes after green certification
Published:Sunday | August 4, 2013 | 12:00 AM
The new hotel being constructed by Pan-Jamaican Investment Trust and partners is being touted as the first Jamaican building in line for LEED certification.
LEED, or 'Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design', branding is for environment-friendly structures designed for energy efficiency and water and materials conservation at both the construction and operational cycles.
The standards were developed by a non-profit group in the United States but have reportedly been used in some 140 countries for the development and or retrofitting of 'green' buildings. The standards are applied to commercial and other structures as well as homes.
Programme developers US Green Building Council (USGBC) announced an inventive programme in June called LEED Earth, under which it would refund certification fees for projects that are the first to be LEED-certified in their countries. The fees, which include payments for registration as well as site reviews by USGBC, can run into thousands of dollars.
eligible for a waiver
The programme targets 112 markets in which LEED standards are yet to take root. Jamaica is on the list, which means the new hotel may be eligible for the waiver.
The 130-room hotel spanning five storeys is being developed in New Kingston by Caribe Hospitality Jamaica Limited, which is a partnership of Pan-Jamaican, Caribe Hospitality SA of Costa Rica, and Victor E. Mouttet Limited of Trinidad.
It will operate under the marquee, Courtyard by Marriott, which is an American-owned brand.
The hotel is a US$22 million (J$2.2b) project, which has backing from the Inter-American Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation.
Pan-Jamaican chairman and CEO Stephen Facey announced the plan for LEED certification at the launch of construction on July 25.