Gatlinburg Hilton Garden Inn to Pursue LEED

According to WATE, Channel 6 in Knoxville, Tenn., construction is set to begin soon on a Hilton Garden Inn in Gatlinburg, Tenn., that will pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The hotel will be built where the River Oaks Shopping Center now sits. "We want to do this to protect the environment and protect all the natural resources of the Great Smoky Mountains," said developer Logan Coykendall. Coykendall says they will reuse materials from the existing River Oaks Center. They will also use up to 20 percent recycled materials on the new building. It is a project slated to cost $15 million. The new hotel will also be made with regional materials. "Instead of getting materials from China or somewhere, we will try to get them from as close to home as we can," Coykendall said. The project should be complete by the summer of 2009. Click here for more details.