Certainly there are some pretty cool ecological features to the new Banner Bank building that had its grand opening in downtown Boise today. The 11-story office tower has a unique water reclamation system that collects gray water and storm water runoff from seven acres of downtown Boise and uses it to flush the building’s toilets. It has everything from super-efficient lighting to recycled fiber in its carpets, and overall is “an ecologically friendly building,” Gov. Jim Risch said this morning at the building’s opening, which also drew dignitaries including Boise Mayor Dave Bieter.

Risch recognized the Christensen Group and Gary Christensen for the project, which earned a platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and an energy rebate from Idaho Power. Then he drew a parallel between President Theodore Roosevelt’s decision to expand Yosemite National Park and the construction of the Boise office building. “Just as Roosevelt strove to protect the water, air, and natural resources in Yosemite National Park by expanding its boundaries in 1906, the Christensen Corp., one hundred years later, has constructed a building that protects these same vital resources in the great state of Idaho,” Risch said.

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