Should we change our city's name to Green Rapids??  Not likely, even in the

month of March,  but with our reputation in the "Green Community", we

certainly could.  A full 11 percent of all LEED-certified buildings can be

found in the Grand Rapids area, more per capita than any other city in

the nation. Grand Rapids Michigan has a core city population  of about

200,000 people, which definitely means we are one of the "little guys" in the 

 green movement.

Grand Rapids' mayor, George Heartwell, spoke at the closing of the Chicago

 Greenbuild conference  in November of 2007. Sitting along side mayors of

 several large cities, Albuquerque, Chicago, and Austin, Texas, he might have

seemed somewhat out of place to some.  His speech can be viewed here, so you

 can see why we,   Grand Rapids, Michigan, are one of the leaders in the

Green Movement in the United States.  From the Grand Rapids Art Museum,

the first LEED-certified art museum in the world, to the countless new

buildings that have been designed using green principles, our communities

have grabbed a leadership position in the Green Wave.                                

Here are a few of the larger, more recent projects built to LEED certification:

• Grand Rapids Ballet performance hall
• 340-room J.W. Marriott hotel
• Grand Rapids Art Museum
• Grand Valley State University Engineering School
• Restored, century-old office building
• First restaurant in the Midwest to be LEED certified inside and out.

 There are also many area schools working towards LEED certification.

Even our Habitat for Humanity chapter has committed itself to building only

 LEED-certified homes. We have green design firms, homes built with green

materials, and corporations that have made sustainability a priority. We even

have Sustainable Business Degrees ( Aquinas College).

If you want to be on the forefront of the hip, new GREEN WAVE, then there is

 no better place to be than our hometown, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

   Visit my Website for Grand Rapids and Surrounding Area Information

     Copyright by Terry Westbrook 2008 ~ Westbrook Realty   

   All rights reserved                

 George Heartwell -world change photo ~ JW Marriot Hotel in Grand Rapids Mi courtesy of JW Marriot Corp.