Completed in October 2008, the PAC Center is a 56,000 square foot athletic, fitness and recreational facility on Monroe's Brighton Campus. It accommodates a wide range of uses including health and physical education classes, team sports, intramural leagues, community wellness programs and individual fitness.

And in addition to helping with general wellness, it's healthy for the environment. During the design portion of the facility, the college chose to pursue LEED Certification, something which added complexity not just to the drawing-board process and the construction phase -- but to the every level of the planning. In October 2009, however, the effort was rewarded when the U.S. Green Building Council notified the college that the finished product had achieved the LEED Gold rating.

It didn't escape the notice of ASBA's judges during the annual awards program. The PAC Center was honored with the Association's inaugural Green Award, which recognizes eco-friendly design and construction excellence.

The PAC Center boasts a wealth of amenities for its users including a field house with a 136' x 220' synthetic turf field, two retractable batting cages, a two-lane walking/jogging track surrounding the turf field, an interactive lobby for entry to the campus sports facility, a 3,500 sq. ft. fitness center with cardio and strength training equipment, 1,800 sq. ft. of training space including hot and cold hydrotherapy pools, locker rooms, a multi-purpose room, a cleat lobby with public rest rooms, office space and equipment storage areas.

The sports it can host? Nearly unlimited, thanks to its flexible space: the turf field can host any practice, fitness activity, game or intramural sport thinkable. It has additional equipment for baseball and softball batting practice, and its two-lane track can lend itself to walking or running.

Among the center's eco-friendly facilities were:

• A high energy efficient field house

• Energy cost reduction of over 30% from the ASHRAE Standard 90.1, 2004

• 30% reduction in water use from the Energy Policy Act of 1992 Fixture Performance Requirements

• A diversion of over 50% of construction waste away from landfills

• Nearly 40% of all construction materials had recycled content

• More than 10% of all materials were generated within 500 miles of the project.

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