Project Profiles

First LEED Gold Building in Kankakee County

Since 1966, Kankakee Community College (KCC) has provided a quality education to thousands of students each year on the banks of the Kankakee River. With class sizes steadily increasing as well as the demand for a wider range of academic offerings, expanding the small, local community college was a necessity. In order to better serve the community at large, plans were made to create satellite campuses outside of Kankakee, including the Kankakee Community College North Extension in Bradley, Illinois.

In 2007, KCC pledged the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment, requiring any structure they build to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® Silver standard or higher. With this goal in mind, the school teamed up with Heritage Development & Construction and Demonica Kemper Architects to draw up plans for its new expansion. The result was a stunning, two-story facility spanning 18,353 square-feet, featuring the school’s new massage therapy program and cutting-edge classrooms to house credit courses, corporate training, and GED classes.

Among the many energy-focused features of the KCC North Extension building, one of the most important and visible is the installation of Kingspan Designwall™ 2000 insulated metal wall panels covered in Valspar’s Fluropon® 70 percent PVDF architectural coating. Utilizing a color palette of silver with pops of dark gray and brown to coat the metal panels, offers a sleek and fashionable aesthetic to the facility’s façade. Fluropon coating delivers exceptional protection against dirt and stains, and is designed to resist chalking and fading. Additionally, the exterior insulated metal panels offer energy savings to the North Extension through their superior thermal efficiency, earning a high R-26 building insulation value.

Officially opening its doors in July 2014, the Kankakee Community College North Extension became the first building in Kankakee County to receive U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Gold certification. With the completion of the North Extension, KCC is now able to better serve its growing student body, and provide them with a state-of-the-art education facility.

Project Overview
General Contractor: Heritage Development & Construction Inc.; Kankakee, Ill.; http://hdcgc.com/

Coatings provider: The Valspar Corporation; Minneapolis, Minn.; http://www.valsparcoilextrusion.com/

Architect: Demonica Kemper Architects; Chicago; Ill.; http://www.dka-design.com/

Metal Panel manufacturer: Kingspan; Columbus, Ohio; http://www.kingspanpanels.us/