DANVERS — North Shore Community College yesterday afternoon broke ground on a $32 million Health Professions and Student Services Building touted both for its energy efficiency and its ability to provide cutting-edge health and science education.

The construction site at the Ferncroft Road campus was nothing more than a massive crater as officials, including North Shore Community College President Wayne Burton, Division of Capital Asset Management Commissioner David Perini and state Board of Higher Education Chairman, and Danvers resident Charles Desmond praised the project's "green" design.

"Today, we break ground on more than a building," Burton said. "We come together to witness the laying of the cornerstone of a new economic era based on the principles of sustainability and environmental stewardship."

"We are talking about green space, and all that is wonderful," said state Rep Ted Speliotis, D-Danvers, "but the reality is we are building a building that's going to put people, hundreds and thousands of people over the next 10, 20 and 30 years, to work in a health care field which represents almost one-fifth of our economy. What more important thing could we possibly be doing today? Nothing. Nothing at all."

Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry, D-Peabody, was ill and unable to attend, Burton said. The campus's main building is named after Berry, who, along with Speliotis, shepherded a bond bill to provide the project's funding, Burton said.

As far as its green design goes, the building will have LED lighting, Energy Star equipment and smart lighting and controls. Heating and cooling will be geothermal, and the building will have a "green" roof covered in vegetation, "gray" water runoff recovery and solar heat.

Architect Peter Fourtounis, who works for the firm DiMella Shaffer, said the building is designed to be a zero net energy building, producing more power than it consumes. The building can produce enough to power up to 60 homes a year, Fourtounis said, but the key to the building's efficiency will be its conservation measures and how well it is maintained.

In addition to its energy efficiency, the project would allow the college to consolidate its health programs, including those housed on the campus of Essex Agricultural and Technical High School, and complete its campus.

Earlier this year, the green project came under fire when residents on Hazen Avenue noticed an acre of woods had been cleared for a lot to accommodate parking displaced by construction. College spokeswoman Peggy Justice said workers were in the process of planting trees to provide a buffer. The building is expected to open in September 2011.

Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or by e-mail at eforman@salemnews.com.

building FACTS

Size: 58,700 gross square feet

Floors: 3

Rooms: Five general academic instruction and student support spaces, plus classroom and lab space for nurse education, practical nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, radiologic technology, respiratory care, surgical technology, medical assisting and animal science.

Builder: Walsh Brothers

Source: North Shore Community College