The DuPage Community Foundation, a grant-making foundation created to benefit the people of the county, has awarded Elmhurst College a $10,000 grant to support green initiatives. These are part of a $23 million campus redevelopment project being implemented.

The grant partially funds the planting of a prairie garden as well as the college’s educational outreach programs on environmental topics. Earlier this year, Elmhurst received other grants for this project from the DuPage County Stormwater Management division ($116,000 for its innovative water management solutions) and the Dr. Scholl Foundation ($20,000 for monitoring equipment, curricular development and outreach activities).

The centerpiece of the redevelopment is a 170-bed residence hall. Designed to earn LEED certification, the U.S. Green Building Council’s scoring method for measuring the sustainability of new construction and renovation projects, it is under construction and scheduled for completion in summer 2008.

Elmhurst College intends to make the project an environmental showcase for visitors and the community. The college is developing site signage, displays and educational materials on the green features of the project that will be provided to the community and homeowners’ associations as a basis for development of their own sustainable initiatives.

St. Louis’ Site Adds New Divisions

The St. Louis-based Site Improvement Association has created two member divisions to provide members with increased representation.

The highway/bridge and specialty divisions will each hold two seats on the organization’s board of directors.

Andy Ernst, construction operations manager of St. Louis-based Pace Construction Co., will represent the highway/bridge division. Three will represent the specialty division: Jim Fitzgerald, vice president of Brentwood, Mo.-based N.B. West Construction Co.; Peggy McGrath, president of St. Louis-based TraMar Contracting; and Terry McDannold, sales manager of St. Louis-based Park-Mark.

The highway and bridge division was created due to the large number of member contractors in highway and bridge construction. The specialty division was created because existing members were previously classified as associate members and therefore recognized as not holding a contractor position in the group.

Site offers legislative action, education, labor relations and social networking opportunities.

Building Product Maker Alliance Formed

The Alexandria, Va.-based Construction Specifications Institute has announced the formation of the Building Product Manufacturers Alliance, a group that will bring together leading manufacturers to share knowledge.

The BPMA will help its members improve their products and services and strengthen their outreach to the entire building industry by providing a forum to discuss common issues and challenges and to share best practices.

As the national association of specifiers, architects, engineers, contractors and suppliers, CSI is in a position to bring together manufacturers and to connect them to other key sectors of the building industry through BPMA.

For information, visit www.csinet.org on the Internet or call 800-689-2900.