St. Petersburg's Benjamin F. Shirley Sr. Sanitation Building Earns LEED Gold Certification

St. Petersburg's Benjamin F. Shirley Sr. Sanitation Building Earns LEED Gold Certification

September 15, 2026 - The City of St. Petersburg's Benjamin F. Shirley Sr. Sanitation Building recently received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The LEED Gold certification recognizes buildings designed to reduce environmental impact while creating a more efficient and resilient workplace for City employees. In line with Mayor Welch's Environment, Infrastructure, and Resilience Pillar for Progress, this achievement reflects the City of St. Petersburg's ongoing commitment to building public infrastructure that is efficient, resilient, healthy and environmentally responsible.

"The Benjamin F. Shirley Sr. Sanitation Building sets the standard for environmental responsibility and this certification is a testament of St. Pete's ongoing commitment to creating innovative and resilient infrastructure," said Mayor Kenneth T. Welch. "Sanitation is critical to any city or municipality's infrastructure and I'm proud that our City can be recognized for this effort. This state-of-the-art facility will serve our community for generations to come and I want to thank our City team for continuing to set the standard for public service."

The facility received 60 points under the LEED v4 Building Design and Construction: New Construction rating system, earning Gold certification on August 17, 2026 . LEED is one of the world's most widely recognized green-building certification programs.

The facility generates enough solar energy to fully power itself, with LEED analysis showing that the system can produce more than 100 percent of the building's annual energy needs. The building itself also uses 34 percent less energy than a standard building. Other sustainable features help conserve water, reduce construction waste and improve indoor air quality. Indoor water use is reduced by 35.39 percent, irrigation uses 99.87 percent less drinking water, and at least 75 percent of construction waste was kept out of landfills.

The facility was also built to support essential City services during disruptions. Backup power and other resilience features help the building remain operational when regular utility service is interrupted. Additional features include energy-efficient LED lighting, reduced heat and light pollution, and electric-vehicle charging stations.

More information about the Benjamin F. Shirley Sr. Sanitation Building is available here .