Meth-Wick’s new green roof will offer many benefits, better view

An idea to protect the views from the living rooms of Meth-Wick Community residents when adding on to their building has turned into one of Iowa's largest “green roof” projects.

An order of 6,000 one-by-two-foot plant modules  began arriving this week at the continuing care retirement community. Before the end of the year, they will be growing over 13,000 square feet of roof over the continuing care retirement community's new Town Center addition.

The large new rooftop and a rooftop deck were going to be just below window level for some community  residents, causing facility administrators to wonder what could be done to protect their view.

“Even the nicest roof deck isn't that nice to look at,” said Tim Pendergast, facilities manager at Meth-Wick. During nearly eight years of planning for the community services addition, Meth-Wick began looking into the benefits of planting a green roof.

The plantings  include 21 varieties of sedum, a hardy succulent that can drink up a lot of water and survive a long time between waterings. They include a variety of vegetation colors that were custom-ordered from Roof Top Sedums, a Davenport-based licensed grower for the company LiveRoof.

Roof Top Sedums planted the specific mixture ordered by Meth-Wick in June so they would be ready to plant in the fall.

“This will provide our residents with a pleasing view instead of just a rooftop,” Meth-Wick president and CEO Robin Mixdorf said.

Residents will be able to see the live roof close up from a new rooftop deck. The plantings are expected to prolong the life of the new roof by as much as 40 years and reduce air conditioning costs for the area under the roof by 25 percent or more, according to LiveRoof.

In addition, the company says the plantings reduce rapid water runoff that can contribute to flooding, helps keep pollutants out of waterways, and absorbs carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

Green roofs are proliferating rapidly in some large cities such as Toronto and Chicago where they are required by city code for certain types of projects, Pendergast said.  In Iowa, they are still rare.

Water Tower Place in Cedar Rapids, a loft condominium project, planted one of the area's first green roofs this summer in hopes that other building owners could learn from it and adopt the rooftop sustainability practice.

Meth-Wick's Town Center project added 14,000 square feet of space to the community's oldest building. It includes a coffee shop, exercise classroom, exercise equipment room gift shop, billiards room, and library.

Primus Construction of Hiawatha, the general contractor for Town Center, sent staff members to LiveRoof to obtain installation certification before beginning the project.

The second phase of the Town Center project is now under way. Slated for completion in 2011 on the community's 50th anniversary, it will include renovation of the lobby and stafff offices at The Manor, and construction of a community room with seating for 200 people.