Grandy Village Learning Center Selected as Central Site for Southside Solar Tour

The Hampton Roads Solar Group has chosen Grandy Village Learning Center as its central site for the 2013 Hampton Roads Solar Tour, Oct. 5, 2013. Grandy Village Learning Center is a LEED Gold-certified building (the first in Norfolk to achieve this) owned by the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority located at 2971 Kimball Loop in Norfolk. The Southside Tour will kick off from there, and it will be used all day for a series of presentations and educational sessions on solar power in homes.

During construction, approximately 70 percent of the building materials were recycled. The building also uses structural insulated panels, which contain a core of rigid foam insulation between two structural pieces of oriented strand board. This coupled with four inches of expanded foam in all the exterior walls, double-glazed low-E windows, help the Grandy Village Learning Center lower heating and cooling costs and create a healthy environment for the building occupants.

Grandy Village Learning Center has a parking lot out front as well as on the nearby streets. The walkways and parking areas are permeable surfaces to reduce runoff.

Enter (from the doors on the right) into a large, bright foyer which could hold a dozen or so tables for displays.

The conference room will seat at least 50 people and has overhead projection capability. In the other direction you have views of the East Branch of the Elizabeth River.

Outdoors, a path leads to the waterfront (the Elizabeth River).

The building has a solar hot-water system and large roof overhangs over concrete walkways that provide space for outdoor displays if the weather is nice.