Mormons break ground on 'green' meetinghouse in New Jersey

Our take: Beginning with several new meetinghouses in Utah, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has recently been finding ways to make the buildings more environmentally friendly. The newest "green" chapel is to be built in Englewood, N.J., and it will be the first LEED certified building in the town.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints broke ground Saturday on an enviromentally friendly state of the art meetinghouse in Englewood, planned to serve members of the Mormon faith from across Bergen County.

The 15,270-square-foot facility is expected to open in early 2014, according to a church news release. Plans call for it to include a chapel, 16 classrooms and offices, along with a gymnasium and underground parking spaces. The new meetinghouse, the release said, will also become Englewood's first building to carry LEED certification, which recognizes the structure's "green" construction.

Earth-friendly building features will include rooftop gardens to increase energy efficiency, a sophisticated water recycling system to reduce wastewater and limit the use of potable water for landscape irrigation, and advanced control systems for lighting and thermal comfort will also be installed, church officials said. Recycled and renewable building materials will also be used in construction.

Read more about the new building on Teaneck Patch.