Front entrance of the Copper Country Community Arts Center on Quincy Street in Hancock. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)HANCOCK -- The Community Arts Center will host a series of three informative and inspiring educational presentations about sustainability and green building. The first of the series will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, in the Community Training Room (Room 323) at the Jutila Center for Global Design and Business at Finlandia University, Portage Campus, Hancock.
At this first meeting, Linda Frey, executive director of the West Michigan Chapter of U.S. Green Building Council, will introduce what it means to be LEED certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and how it applies to the Copper Country Community Arts Center project. Immediately following Frey’s presentation, a public forum will be held to collect input and ideas regarding future development of the Community Arts Center building in downtown Hancock.
Early in 2008 the Copper Country Community Arts Center (CCCAC) in Hancock formed a small committee of people who were concerned with the state of the building. In one of the first conversations the group asked, "Shouldn’t we do something to make our building more sustainable?" and "Why wouldn’t we do something to take our south face of the building and turn it into an asset?" These were just a few of the questions that led the CCCAC to consider a green building renovation. Suddenly their vision had grown very large and very exciting. The CCCAC met with Allison Slavick who is a highly experienced consultant with a love for the area. She felt the Community Arts Center was a perfect fit for the Kresge Foundation's Green Building Initiative Grant. The CCCAC contracted with her to develop the grant proposal and was awarded $60,000 to execute the planning process. The grant will fund the professional consultation services necessary to develop and evaluate a green building plan for the Arts Center. This includes pre-design planning services, energy and material analysis and ecological site planning.
The CCCAC is a non-profit organization that serves Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga and Ontonagon counties. The Community Arts Center features three galleries, classes and workshops for people of all ages, and hosts numerous community events including the Poor Artists Sale, the Houghton Spring Art and Music Festival, Art in the Garden, and OctoberFest in South Range.
The public is welcome to attend all of the presentations. The next two presentations will also be held at 7 p.m. in Room 323 at the Jutila Center on the following dates:
- Monday, Oct. 12, with Cortland Overmyer, Community Sustainability Manager, United Water Contract Services, Suez Environnement North America, and Norman Christopher, Sustainability Director of Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids.
- Wednesday, Oct. 28, with Heather McElwee, Assistant Director and Chris Clarke, Facilities Director from the Pittsburgh Glass Center.
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