City-County building goes green 9.19.11

WISH TV

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Greg Ballard says that the Indianapolis City County Building is one of the most energy efficient government buildings in the country as the result of recent improvements. The Mayor says there were two goals: to save money and to set an example for others to follow. It took an investment of $18 million.

Ballard says the project that includes solar and wind powered lights on the plaza will pay for itself in 15 years through energy savings. There are also upgrades in the heating, cooling, and ventilation system as well as the addition of solar power in the building, and plumbing changes.

"I'm so proud that we could do this here in this building," said Ballard. "I cannot emphasize enough that this building is almost 50 years old and we now have wind, solar, and geothermal energy applications inside of this building."

The effort to transform the CCB into a green building began in 2009. The Mayor says it's only a coincidence that today's announcement was made in the middle of campaign season. He says it's because the work at the City County Building was just completed. Even so, don't be surprised if this project shows up in a campaign commercial.
http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/marion_county/city-county-building-goes-green