DPR Breaks Ground on its New LEED™-Registered Office Building and Assists Customers in Creating Short- and Long-Term Strategies for Effective Green Building

Reduced operating costs, enhanced employee productivity and increased building valuation are just some of the many rewards touted by the U.S. Green Building Council, municipalities and companies across the country that are encouraging the development of environmentally friendly buildings. But, what are the real costs and savings associated with “going green”? An active member of the U.S. Green Building Council since 1999, DPR offers customized tools, based on practical applications and data, to assist owners and developers with LEED™ project management and high-performance sustainable design and construction.

For DPR, building its new 52,300-sq.-ft. Sacramento office, using Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) standards, “makes perfect business sense, especially once you review all of the benefits of owning and operating a green facility,” said Neal Cordeiro of DPR.

Established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the LEED™-certification program is a comprehensive rating system that measures the sustainable elements of a project and provides a national industry standard for what renowned architect William McDonough calls “eco-effective” building. DPR worked with McDonough and his firm in 2001 on an 110,000-sq.-ft. corporate headquarters for Aspect Communications, one of the most environmentally sound structures ever completed in San Jose, CA.

DPR is leveraging the experience gained on Aspect, as well as its many other green projects over the years, such as Lewis & Clark College Residence Halls, The Evergreen State College Seminar II Building, Lower Colorado River Authority consolidation project and CarrAmerica Realty’s Braker Pointe Building 3, for its new ground-up office building currently under construction on Natomas Park Drive.

Owned by DPR and ABD Insurance and Financial Services Inc. through a limited liability corporation, the building has been designated as California Central Valley’s first privately held LEED™-registered project. And, just as DPR offers to help customers around the nation determine the right short- and long-term strategies for effectively designing and constructing sustainable facilities, it took a close look at its own needs, along with ABD’s, and weighed the long-term benefits against the added upfront cost of a green building.

“The result was that the additional outlay for our new building will be paid back within two-and-a-half years through water and energy savings, and we anticipate an even greater return on our investment over the life of the building,” said Cordeiro.

Green Expertise

With 19 LEED™-accredited and 300 LEED™-trained professionals—more than any other general contractor in the nation—DPR serves as a resource to its customers on green construction, including how to minimize resource consumption, utilize renewable/recyclable resources, create healthy non-toxic human environments and apply life cycle cost analysis.

“Green is a natural fit for DPR and our focus on technically challenging projects that often require extensive, detailed documentation during start-up and commissioning much like the paperwork needed to certify a project through the LEED™ program,” said Craig Greenough of DPR and a LEED™-accredited professional. “We also have people across the country trained in sustainable design and construction and the tools and processes in place to help facilitate the right green vision for our customers, whether their goals are financial or altruistic or both.”

In addition to the long-term operational savings, studies and analysis show that green/LEED™-certified buildings allow for a higher quality indoor environment that can help boost productivity among employees, improve efficiency and reduce absenteeism by 15 to 40 percent.

“There are a number of reasons why cities, such as Dallas and Los Angeles, are passing resolutions that require new projects to follow U.S. Green Building Council standards,” said Greenough. “Environmentally friendly buildings are not just a fad; they are a growing national trend that is also smart business.”

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, there are 40 buildings certified as part of the LEED™ rating system and more than 600 currently registered, which is approximately double the number from 18 months ago. The LEED™ rating system offers a total of 69 possible points awarded once a project is completed in the following six categories:

• Sustainable sites
• Water efficiency
• Energy and atmosphere
• Materials and resources
• Indoor environmental quality
• Innovation and design process

Depending on the number of points in each category, projects have the opportunity to achieve four different levels of LEED™ certification, including Standard Certification –a minimum of 26 points, Silver—33 to 38 points, Gold—39 to 51 points, and Platinum—52 or more points.

The DPR-ABD building team is targeting a Silver certification, when the project is completed in September, said Cordeiro. Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council can take four to six months after substantial completion.

Green Innovation

Designed by LPA Sacramento, Inc. to accommodate both DPR and ABD’s recent growth—providing a central location for employees and allowing for future expansion—the facility includes design elements that provide individuals in the office with access to fresh air and natural light and a connection to the outdoors. Cordeiro said that these features were added based on research by the Green Building Alliance that found that people who work in green buildings tend to be more productive, call in sick less and stay with a company longer.

Managing the LEED™-certification process with its own customized green building tools, DPR is implementing a variety of environmentally sensitive initiatives during construction, including recycling more than 80 percent of the construction debris and selecting wood products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, along with numerous earth friendly materials, chosen for their high-recycled content, durability, low maintenance and non-toxicity—creating a healthier environment for the 200 DPR and ABD employees who will be occupying the building.

DPR is also installing a frictionless, turbo-core compressor that utilizes magnets rather than oil. Both the compressor and the building’s HVAC system do not release hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which cause ozone reduction. In addition, DPR will shave dollars off of its long-term operating budget by incorporating low and/or no flow water fixtures, waterless urinals, a drip irrigation system and natural plants that will reduce the building’s water consumption by 52 percent.

“The key to successfully developing and managing a sustainable, LEED™-certified facility is upfront planning to ensure that overall savings outweigh additional costs and determine exactly when the facility will begin paying for itself,” said Greenough.