The first privately-owned LEED-certified building in Oldham County is now open for business. Bluegrass Eye Center has moved into a new energy-efficient facility in Crestwood, the only known project in Oldham Co. that has received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver Certification status for a private building.

The building, located at 6400 Westwind Way, off the Highway 329 bypass in Crestwood, Ky, features geothermal heating and cooling, solar hot water heating, the use of recycled and sustainable materials, native vegetative landscaping, passive day-lighting techniques, insulated concrete form walls, sunscreens and low-emissivity windows, which have a thin coating on the window to reduce heat transfer.

Ophthalmologists Dr. Anne Huntington, Dr. John Distler and Dr. Matthew Blair own the medical practice, which occupies about 8,000 square feet of the two-story, 19,500 square foot building. They broke ground on the new facility last August.

The Crestwood facility is one of two offices Bluegrass Eye Center operates in the area. Previously located on S. First Street in LaGrange, the practice has more than doubled the size of its new office. The new facility has more examination rooms, and space for testing procedures previously handled in the Louisville office, which is located on Churchman Avenue in South Louisville.

"When we began this venture and learned of some local public facilities being LEED certified, we knew it was the responsible thing to do," said Dr. Blair, co-owner of Bluegrass Eye Center. "Energy costs are going up and we are learning more and more how to help out the environment."

National City Bank financed the project for DHB Properties, LLC. Other consultants on the project included: H & H Design-Build, architectural design and construction; CMTA, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering; Generation 14, the LEED consultant; BTM Engineering, civil, landscaping and structural engineering; and Swope Design, interior design.