Bozeman’s Bridger View Neighborhood Development Achieves LEED Gold Certification

Montana’s first LEED Gold for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND) project is a new neighborhood designed to enable affordable and sustainable living and has earned a Gold level certification under the LEED V4 rating system. Conceived and stewarded by the Trust for Public Land, Bridger View is adjacent to Story Mill Community Park’s 40-acre wildlife sanctuary, community center, and trails in northern Bozeman, Montana. evolveEA managed the LEED certification process for the project, led the master planning for the community, and developed the conceptual architectural design in collaboration with Comma Q Architecture and the Trust for Public Land. The master plan creates 62 energy-efficient, mixed-income homes for the Bridger View neighborhood which is currently under construction.

The U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) framework is the most widely adopted standard for sustainability in the building industry, with its LEED ND rating system intended to scale resource preservation beyond buildings and promote impactful efficiencies at scale. The rating system is recalibrated with each version to raise standards for sustainable design with increasingly ambitious goals and requirements. Bridger View is the first LEED ND Gold project in the Rocky Mountain Region to be certified under Version 4, confirming the development as one of the region’s greenest neighborhoods.

Photos courtesy of Christine Walker

Strategies contributing to the LEED certification include:

• Design for Wellbeing. The neighborhood’s compact and walkable design provides abundant green space and access to natural outdoor amenities. The homes are also optimized for indoor environmental quality with daylighting, views to outside, and non-emitting materials.
• Design for Resource Efficiency. Residents will enjoy comfortable homes configured to use over 40% less energy than the estimated baseline for similar units in the region, while shared amenities and common spaces allow for greater density with limited land use. Efficient water fixtures and sustainable landscaping also contribute to reduced water use.
• Design for Ecology. The neighborhood compliments the adjacent wildlife habitat with special care taken to avoid light pollution, preserve and enhance tree canopy cover, and provide areas with native vegetation throughout the development.
• Design for Affordability. Bridger View’s innovative financing model provides a high standard of sustainable living for working class families and individuals, enabling home ownership priced below the typical local market rate.

Project brochure. Click to read more.

We are thrilled to see our sustainable design strategies verified through the LEED ND rating system, demonstrating an unprecedented achievement that will become a model for future development. Bridger View’s first available units will be completed and occupied later this year.

The project team included evolveEA, Comma Q Architecture, GroundPrint Consulting, Stahly Engineering and Associates, and Navigate Consulting.