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The University of Tampa recently received LEED® Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for its new Fitness and Recreation Center, which was opened in September 2016.

The Fitness and Recreation Center is the fifth building on UT’s campus built in accordance with the rigorous standards set by USGBC’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building certification program. The other four buildings are the Science Annex and Jenkins Hall, which both achieved LEED Gold designation, and the Dickey Health and Wellness Center and the Maureen A. Daly Innovation and Collaboration Building, which both achieved LEED Silver designation.

The LEED rating system, developed by the USGBC, is the foremost program for buildings, homes and communities that are designed, constructed, maintained and operated for improved environmental and human health performance.

The 40,000 square-foot, two-story Fitness and Recreation Center is centrally located on campus. It is a one-stop shop for all exercise programs, personal training and evaluation, wellness and nutrition programs, intramurals, recreation activities, club sports and some exercise related laboratory and research activities.

Since its opening, the center has experienced a total of 168,628 student visits, and students have logged more than 4,800 hours on the Precor cardio equipment: treadmills; adaptive motion trainer; elliptical motion trainers; recumbent and upright bikes. An average of 48 group fitness classes are held each week, with an average weekly participation rate of 629 individuals.

"The University is committed to providing healthy, safe and efficient buildings for all students, faculty and staff,” said UT President Ronald Vaughn. “The Fitness and Recreation Center is a well-utilized facility in the heart of campus. It is satisfying to have achieved LEED certification while also meeting our facility goals.”

“The University of Tampa’s LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO of USGBC. “LEED was created to make the world a better place and revolutionize the built environment by providing everyone with healthy, green and high performing buildings. UT’s Fitness and Recreation Center serves as a prime example of how the work of innovative building projects can use local solutions to make a global impact on the environment.”

For more about the UT Fitness and Recreation Center, see www.ut.edu/fitnesscenter.