Building green: Office developer recoups costs through savings on energy

With a number of construction and renovation projects under way in downtown Salt Lake City, at least one will seek to meet the need for affordable commercial office space while considering environmental efficiency.

Green Earth Development is in the process of converting a 10,000-square-foot office property located at 182 S. 600 East into a high-efficiency, 100-percent "green" building.

"This is an exciting and important milestone for us as we seek to renovate existing and develop new commercial buildings that protect the environment, but are economically competitive in terms of leasing rates and operating costs," said Michael Jeppesen, founder and president of Green Earth Development.

"When complete, this building will offer quality office space at reasonable rates, as well as lead the way in reducing our carbon footprint and conserving natural resources."

Jeppeson said the project — called GreenSpace at 6th East — is being built to standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. LEED certification standards assess five categories, including energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, sustainable sites, water efficiency, and indoor environmental air quality, said Hailey Smith, Green Earth's LEED certification manager.

In addition, LEED is divided into three sub-categories, ranging from silver to gold to platinum, the latter being the highest level of environmental certification. GreenSpace is targeted for gold certification, according to Jeppeson.

The trend of green commercial development is gaining momentum. Salt Lake City now requires all new or renovated city-owned facilities to be built to at least silver LEED certification standards. Around the nation, other cities, including Chicago and San Francisco, also have implemented LEED standards for municipal-owned buildings. In addition, a number of big companies, such as McDonald's and Wal-Mart, have chosen to join the U.S. Green Building Council.

"Commercial buildings consume 70 percent of the electricity in our country," said Jeppeson. "We can do pretty simple things to make them more energy efficient."

Among the prominent design elements included in the project will be oversize windows on the south side of the building that allow more sunlight to flow in, reducing the need for electrical light and improving employee performance and comfort. Jeppeson said daylight has been associated with higher productivity, lower absenteeism, positive attitudes, reduced fatigue and reduced eyestrain.