The Heights
Envisioning a Zero Carbon Community
The City of Saint Paul and Saint Paul Port Authority are currently planning The Heights, the redevelopment of a 112-acre brownfield (formerly Hillcrest Golf Course) into a vibrant community on Saint Paul’s Greater East Side. The project will demonstrate the Port’s mission to create jobs, expand the tax base, and advance sustainable development.
Hired to lead sustainability visioning for The Heights, LHB’s Climate Solutions Studio is assisting with strategies to achieve certification under USGBC’s LEED for Communities: Plan & Design rating system as well as an even bigger challenge: creating a plan for The Heights to be carbon neutral. LHB evaluated reducing GHG emissions from energy use in buildings, transportation, street lighting, water and wastewater, and waste management. Our analysis considers innovative strategies such as all-electric buildings, aquifer thermal energy storage, rooftops maximized with photovoltaics, ground-mounted solar over parking, EV charging facilities, low-carbon infrastructure design, and carbon-sequestering landscape design.
LHB’s Landscape Architecture and Planning Studio is supporting the Port Authority through the City’s master planning process to ensure the Port’s development objectives are incorporated and ultimately result in a housing- and job-dense, mixed-use neighborhood that provides a wide array of social amenities, ecosystem services, and economic opportunities. Collaborating with LHB’s commercial and housing architects and Mechanical Engineers, the LHB team has set the stage for The Heights to be among the most innovative communities in the nation.
