Sustainable: B3 guidelines are MN’s alternative to LEED
Finance & Commerce, August 4, 2014Two years ago, St. Paul architect Scott Wende followed the state’s B3 guidelines while designing Kendall’s Ace Hardware on the city’s East Side.
The “Buildings, Benchmarks and Beyond” guidelines, Minnesota’s homegrown alternative to national building performance programs, has aimed at collecting energy data and helping architects and builders to create more efficient buildings.
There was another reason the 15,000-square-foot hardware store at 840 Payne Ave. needed to follow B3 guidelines. The business, which received more than $1.4 million in aid from various city development programs, had to agree to build a high-performance structure and enroll in one of a selection of city-approved sustainable building programs.