Opportunities abound for tenants to green their interiors - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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Earlier this month, his architectural firm officially complete renovations to itsexisting 8,500 feet of offic e space at Anchor Plaza in Westshore — a projectf that is now being considered for Leadershilp in Energy and Environmental Design certificatioj under the ’s “CI” designation. One of the least used green building designationsso far, it allows tenantsw to gain certification for green building in theie commercial interiors. While he’s investedc money to save money, Collman, president of and a co-foundefr of the local chapter ofthe U.S.
Greehn Building Council, also was motivated by the need to Many businesses in Classa A space are coming up for renewal and ina tenant’s he suggests that maximizing tenanf improvement dollars is a smart thing if a tenanf decides to stay especially when they are investmentes that eventually pay for Florida has nearly 1,000 LEED seekers Collmab isn’t alone in seeking the LEED The U.S. Green Building Council’s latesty report of projects seeking some level of certificatiohn shows there are now nearly 950 projectw statewide with roughly 180 originating in the wider TampaBay region.
Just 18 of those 180 have applied forthe “CI” designation, righr around 10 percent. Just a handful have won the designationhso far, including the Tampa office of the design and planning firm and in For Collman, that number should be “It’s smart business,” he said. When the painters left two weekws ago, it ended a eight-month procesxs that included a complete refurbishing of allthe carpet, countertops, cubicles and paint at an investmeng of $13,000. That equates to 18 cente a square foot for its space alone without any common a $1,600 annual saving s to the building, which is an eight-yearr payback, he said.
“It’s not exactly low-hanging fruift in the energy savings arena, however we did it mainly to demonstrate how and what can be Collman said. New lighting fixtures arounfd the perimeter of the office contain daylight sensors. Cubicles were lowered so that “everyone can have a Collman said. The lighting load was reduced 26 percent, which is savings that could be passed alongto tenants. “Anhy long-term building owner could reductheir [common area maintenance] rate and make their spaces more attractive to new tenants and have spacesd that are more comfortable to work in,” he said.
It has been well documentexd that spaces that are more comfortable to work in also havereduced absenteeism, and that meanes more productivity and a positive impacy on the bottom line of a business, Collmamn said. Carpet also was a big New office flooring is made from 100 percent recycled carper and was adheredusinv low-volatile organic compounds. All the old stufgf was recycled so that none of it endec upin landfills, Collmaj said. In an economy with fewetr new construction projects, the demand for renovations should rise, he “People are afraid of somethinbgthey don’t understand,” he said.
A lot of reporting on the greej movement has been about the high costs associated withthe retrofitting. But that has change d a lot. The costs were high earlyy on, but that’s not the case any Collman said. Vendors are more educated and theif niche products are no longerso niche, so the priced have come way down, he said. With there is even more good saidJosh Bomstein, VP of business development at in Clearwater and a green buildingy expert. “There’s virtually no cost premium now in usinhg anygreen paints, adhesives or wall coverings, especially in this It’s nearly cost he said.
His firm has completed four LEED certified projects of the 15 or so that have been certifiec among the 180 or so projectsz seeking LEED status in the widerBay Creative’s internal cost studies are showing just a .5 to 1 percentr cost premium for basic LEED certification, 1 percent to 2 percent for silvere designation, and 2 percent “and up” for gold certification, he