The Central Park Dentistry building, 23 N. Federal Ave. in Mason City, had a “green” roof consisting of sedum rolled out Tuesday afternoon.
The Xero Flor roof, installed by Northern Cedar of Mason City, has a watertight membrane covered by a root barrier, with low-maintenance vegetation growing on top.
As there is limited access to the roof, it will not be used as a patio or for other recreational purposes, but simply as an ecologically friendly way to decrease rainwater runoff and, in the long run, save money.
Dentist Jay Lala, owner of the historic building, said that while the green roof will cost about twice as much as a regular roof, it will actually save on heating and cooling costs and last more than twice as long as a regular flat roof.
Lala said the Central Park Dentistry building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, will be the first commercial building he knows of in North Iowa with a green roof. However, it will not be the first National Register building in Iowa to have one. The newly rededicated Historic City Hall in West Des Moines has a vegetation-covered roof.
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