DETROIT ? The jewel of Detroit, Belle Isle’s 104-year old Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, will get a multi-million green facelift to its aging heating system that could save taxpayers $30 million in energy costs over the next decade.
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing announced that the city had received $8.8 million in Department of Energy grant to spend on improvements in upgrades to boilers, solar lighting, new windows and more. About 50 percent of the money is already targeted to the first phase of the project. Brad Dick, Deputy Director of the city?s General Services Department, said besides Belle Isle, upgrades would be made to fire and police department facilities, as well as community centers.
The upgrades to the Bell Isle Conservatory are noteworthy for several reasons. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in the mid nineties, the replacement of the Conservatory?s boiler will ensures that the work of the volunteers and staff at the Conservatory can continue with the knowledge that the Conservatory will be here for years to come.
“People wonder if we?re getting anything done,? Mayor Bing said. ?We are marshalling our meager resources and will be spending this $8.8 million professionally to help protect our historic structures for the next generation.”
This column was written by MITechNews.Com contributing editor Jeremy Eckhouse.
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