Grandview Yard:
The Nation's Largest
Green-Certified Neighborhood
Equal parts preservation, conservation and innovation, Grandview Yard is a trailblazer.
The 125-acre, 1.4 million-square-foot transformative mixed-use neighborhood was recently recognized as a LEED Certified™ Neighborhood by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The certification makes Grandview Yard the first LEED-ND project in the State of Ohio and the largest green-certified neighborhood in the U.S.
Just minutes from downtown Columbus and The Ohio State University, Grandview Yard is not only an iconic Ohio destination, but a global landmark: a model for developers and communities everywhere who are striving to build green, connected, and sustainable environments and neighborhoods. We are honored to be named a LEED Green Building Legacy Award winner for 2023 in our region.
A new standard
The LEED-ND program provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient environments by recognizing and rating performance in areas including sustainable site development, smart location and linkage, neighborhood pattern and design, and green building infrastructure and buildings.
LEED-ND was engineered to inspire and help create more sustainable, well-connected neighborhoods. It looks beyond the scale of buildings to acknowledge context, connection and community.
Preservation, conservation, innovation
Grandview Yard’s LEED-ND certification acknowledges owner and developer Nationwide Realty Investors’ implementation of practical and measurable green and energy efficient strategies and solutions in areas including:
Local solutions-global difference
“Grandview Yard’s LEED-ND certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership. Grandview Yard is a prime example of how the innovative work of project teams can create local solutions that contribute to making a global difference.”
“The exciting thing about LEED-ND is that it acknowledges the realities of complex communities. Creating a neighborhood isn’t just about the construction of individual buildings. It’s about generating a vision that brings complementary elements together where the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts.”
Green roots—strong foundations
Coincidentally, the launch of the USGBC’s LEED-ND program in 2009 coincided with the first phase of Grandview Yard’s development.
It’s fitting that, nearly 15 years later, Grandview Yard’s emergence as a regional powerhouse is celebrated alongside its groundbreaking LEED-ND certification.
From the ground-up
The site where Grandview Yard stands today, was a blighted industrial district that included the former Big Bear warehouse site. A comprehensive onsite remediation and reclamation strategy was the first step in transforming an industrial eyesore into a vibrant, high-density, mixed-use urban neighborhood.
Warehouse Buildings Salvaged or Recycled
Sand, Gravel & Asphalt Reused for Parking LotS
Recycled Materials Reused in Development
Wood Products Processed & Reused as Mulch
Less hardscape—more landscape
While the large-scale reuse and recycling initiative at Grandview Yard represented an inspired commitment to environmentally friendly construction, much of the project’s certification comes from design and development decisions that were less about construction and logistics, and more about neighborhood, lifestyle elements and connectivity.
The bottom line: less hardscape and more landscape.
- A compact neighborhood with a diversity of land uses
- Tree-lined and shaded pedestrian-friendly sidewalks
- 3-acres of public parks and green spaces supporting a range of public events and activities
- More than 6 miles of paths and sidewalks with connectivity to surrounding trail systems
That’s not all. Five individually LEED-certified mixed-use and office buildings exist throughout the project, as well as environmentally responsible mobility options, all of which significantly reduce negative environmental effects through better building performance.
A Grand Impact
Today, Grandview Yard is a social and commercial engine for Central Ohio residents and businesses.
Nationally and internationally recognized, the neighborhood presents “community” in a way that reflects classic design, connectivity, and public space ideals and principles – a model for communities striving to build green, connected and sustainable environments.