<:figcaption>The Ojibwe phrase “Together we are beginning a good life” greets everyone who walks in the door in the new supportive housing apartments in the former downtown YWCA. The grand opening of the $8.5 million dollar project is Wednesday. The building has 29 apartments for former homeless families and individuals. (Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com
Posted: 3:26 pm Mon, January 23, 2012
By Dan Emerson
A glass-walled conference room at Nilan Johnson Lewis, a Minneapolis law firm that developed an ecology-conscious space on two floors of the One Financial Plaza building. (Staff photo: Bill Klotz)
Interior design in law offices traditionally has featured pricey, imposing furniture, expensive paneling, carpeting and artwork, and other opulent touches. But the Minneapolis law firm of Nilan Johnson Lewis emphatically broke with that tradition when it developed its ecology-conscious space on two floors of the One Financial Plaza building.
The LEED-certified, 77,000-square-foot office, designed by Minneapolis-based Cuningham Group architects, offers a lengthy list of earth-friendly and energy-saving elements: sustainable hardwoods and other locally sourced materials, high-efficiency plumbing and light fixtures, and low VOC (volatile organic compound) paints and carpeting.
And, in the demolition process, Greiner Construction diverted at least 80 percent of the materials from landfills by repurposing or recycling.
Local contractors, architects and landlords say the green build-out trend is growing and can benefit even small space users with limited budgets. Along with sending a socially responsible message, green improvements also can yield significant financial benefits, said Kim Ess, the law firm’s chief operating officer.
After the firm moved into its new office in late 2009, a detailed study showed that the improvements reduced the space’s energy consumption by 35 percent. The daylight-filled space also conveys a welcoming message to clients and employees, Ess said.
Obviously, smaller office tenants do not typically have the same degree of control over their leased spaces as a large business that is leasing two whole floors. Smaller tenant-improvement budgets are one reason.
But they can apply some of the same eco-friendly and energy saving improvements, Ess said. “Much of what we did involved lighting and power consumption.” Along with choosing energy-efficient office equipment, she said, “you can use lamps and fixtures that not only consume less power but also generate less heat.”
Chuck Palm, vice president of engineering and sustainability for Bloomington-based Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq Real Estate Services, agrees that even small or mid-size office tenants can make choices that will lead to significant energy savings. Energy Star-rated PCs, copy machines and other office equipment are examples, he said.
Several national organizations have developed “model” green leases for use by landlords and tenants, including the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA).
Beyond the usual legal stipulations, a green lease addresses key environmental issues such as indoor air quality, energy use, carbon credits, recycling, insurance, maintenance, operating costs, tenant improvements, green cleaning specs and building regulations.
Eric Dueholm, NAI Welsh’s vice president for corporate solutions, said he has not seen much demand for green leases in this market, “although there is a lot of good information” available.
“What I have seen — and what I think is most likely to continue — is proactive efforts on the part of the landlord to ‘green’ their operations and more requests from tenants for green build-outs,” Dueholm said.
NAI Welsh has recently been making green upgrades to a number of its vacant office spaces to “make them more sustainable and more marketable,” he said. “In a lot of older spaces, it’s work that needs to be done anyway.”
David Williams, a building performance specialist and senior mechanical engineer with LHB Engineers and Architects in Minneapolis, points out that landlords and tenants can agree to split the cost of energy-saving improvements.
Williams suggests asking the landlord for data on how much energy has been used to heat, cool and light a space especially if it will be rehabbed — “to see if we can split potential savings by either operating the building better or improving something lessees have control over.”
Palm wishes more office tenants would take advantage of green tenant-improvement opportunities. “I do quite a bit of auditing of commercial spaces, and it surprises me how naïve people are about energy use,” he said. “Even though there is a lot of opportunity to save money, we don’t get nearly as much demand as I would like to see. Most tenants are more concerned with having a nice-looking office space, not necessarily whether it is going to be energy-efficient.”
For example, “there are opportunities missed in choosing light fixtures that look beautiful but may not be that efficient,” Palm said. “Even with standard, 4-foot fluorescent bulbs, many people are not aware that there are multiple options available that could be 20 percent more efficient. I don’t think those are usually presented as options when architects are pulling together plans.”
Of course, some tenants, landlords and architects are greener than others. “We’re always looking at energy efficiency and occupant health, from soup to nuts,” said Rick Carter, a principal with LHB Architects.
“In some cases, that means using less materials or salvaging materials from the build-out. Or you might not have (fixed) walls dividing up the space, which is also a green strategy,” said Carter, recently named one of the Green Building Certification Institute’s first 34 LEED Fellows, chosen for their leadership.
“Sometimes, it depends on a company’s culture,” said Andi Simon, senior director of project management for Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq Real Estate Services. “Before they lease, some tenants want to know what the landlord is offering for sustainable practices.”
Simon said clients who opt for green features typically do so for altruistic reasons rather than focusing only on costs and payback. “Some people feel it’s the right thing to do and that it supports their culture and business platform.”
