A Sustainable Gold Line Campus

Gold Line Operations Campus (Photo – foothillgoldline.org)

A 24-acre sustainable Gold Line Operations Campus, with an estimated cost of $265 million, will be open to the public this Saturday.

The Foothill Gold Line Operations Campus, housed in Monrovia,  is one of the only facilities of its kind to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environrnenl Design (LEED) Gold standards.

It’s one of the highest levels of recognition available due to its energy and water  conservation measures.

The campus will have:

• Solar panel array

A 178.5-kilowatt solar panel array was installed on the Maintenance of Way canopy structure. It will generate an average of 22,000 kilowatt hours of electricity every month, enough to power 27% of the needs of the Main Shop Building and equivalent to the electricity needed to fully power eleven (11) 1,800-square foot homes each month.

• Collection of rainfall

Stormwater, that’s typically sent unfiltered to the ocean, will be collected by a specialized stormwater management system that’s been installed to capture the first ¾-inch (112,000 gallons) of a 100-year storm event. The system was designed and built beneath the ground surface.

In the event the stormwater from the rainfall doesn’t reach the on-site drain systems, it will be captured through permeable ground that makes up the majority of the campus property’s surface area.

Also, smart sprinkler technology, and planting of a variety of drought-tolerant plants, will reduce landscape water consumption on the campus by 50%.

Importantly, the Car Wash Facility, to wash the the light rail fleet, will utilize only recycled, reclaimed water.

• 50 % composed of recycled materials

Nearly 50% of the materials used in the construction of the campus are comprised of recycled materials, including the rail comprising the site’s nearly six miles of light rail track. And to reduce the impact on landfills, the majority of materials and packaging disposed during construction were diverted away from the landfills to be re-purposed and recycled.

California Poppy connection

Mural installation by artist Christie Beniston (Photo – Instagram, christiebeniston).

An artistic theme has been incorporated throughout the facility. Southern California artist Christie Beniston created the theme inspired by the California Poppy. Christie Beniston said:

The first Spanish explorers sailing the coast of California in the eighteenth century called the region ‘a land of fire,’ noting the deep orange colored hillsides. It was only after the ships landed that it became clear that poppies were the source of the golden color, giving California its state flower and motto -The Golden State.

An open house is slated for this Saturday starting at 9:30 am. (Click here for details).

The campus took nearly four years to design and build. At full capacity, it will house up to 84 light rail vehicles, and nearly 200 employees and operate 24/7. A public plaza and viewing area is built at the Southeast corner of Evergreen Ave and California Ave affording the opportunity to sit and watch train activity at the facility.