DPR Construction, Inc. and ABD Insurance and Financial Services announce the completion of their new 52,300-sq.-ft. office building, the first privately owned, high-performance green building in Sacramento to pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) certification. Targeting Silver-level certification, which requires between 33 and 38 points of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) 69-point LEED™ program for new construction, DPR is also aiming for Gold certification for the interior finish-out, as part of a pilot program. Owned by DPR and ABD, the new two-story facility is one of 30 projects nationwide that is being used to help create a new LEED™ certification category for commercial interiors.

"One of the first questions often posed by owners and developers is regarding the additional costs associated with green building," said Craig Greenough, one of DPR's 42 LEED™-accredited professionals and director of sustainable construction for DPR in Sacramento. "To help us and ABD make informed decisions, we utilized our own LEED™ preconstruction management tool to clearly identify credits that made the most business sense from a cost savings and potential return on investment perspective." The result, according to Greenough, is that the additional outlay for the new building will be paid back within two-and-a-half years through water and energy savings and will generate an estimated $435,000 in savings in 10 years based on a minimum energy, water and maintenance inflation rate. "There is also the added benefit that green buildings are known to help boost employee morale and productivity, often upwards of 20 percent."

Some of the new building’s sustainable features include:

• Innovative wastewater technologies, such as waterless urinals, dual-flush toilets and low flow showerheads that will help reduce water use by 45 percent, saving approximately 175,000 gallons a year. DPR also installed a new HVAC condenser water treatment system that will save 130,000 gallons per year and eliminates the need for water treatment chemicals.
• TurboCor® air conditioning compressors, utilizing magnetically levitated shafts rather than oil-lubricated bearings, and a single-ply white roof that reflects the sun and absorbs very little heat to help minimize energy consumption. The TurboCor® compressors use an HFC refrigerant which does not contribute to ozone completion.
• More than 30 percent post-consumer and post-industrial recycled content, using recycled content carpets, ceiling tiles, insulation, rubber flooring, glass and gypsum board, and metal studs. The building also includes bamboo flooring and a bio-composite countertop made of compressed sunflower seed husks and newspaper.

"As a builder of sustainable projects, DPR gained an even greater understanding of the benefits and challenges of high-performance green building by going through the process with our own office," said Greenough.

One of the biggest challenges of pursuing LEED™, noted DPR Project Manager Trish Timothy, is the documentation process essential for achieving certification. DPR plans to submit full documentation to the USGBC for both the new building and interiors this monthsome 30 days after final completion.

"Determining which LEED™ credits we were aiming for from the very beginning helped a great deal as we assemble all the documentation," said Timothy. "Our company's technical building expertise, especially in the biotech, healthcare and semiconductor arenas that often require extensive documentation for commissioning and validation, also proved instrumental in expediting the collection process."

DPR also monitored and inspected all of the equipment and materials used to ensure compliance with the extensive requirements of the LEED™-certification process. For example, the manufacturing and installation of ductwork must be actively monitored to meet LEED™-certification for Indoor Air Quality program requirements. DPR accomplished this by visual inspection of ductwork, performed by DPR LEED™-accredited professionals, as it was being washed and placed in sealed bins to prevent contaminants from entering the building's ventilation system.

About DPR Construction, Inc.:

A forward-thinking national commercial general contractor and construction manager, DPR Construction, Inc. has more LEED™-accredited professionals on staff than any other general contractor in the nation-42 to date-and more than 300 LEED™-trained individuals in its offices across the nation. "Building great things" since it was founded in 1990 by Doug Woods, Peter Nosler and Ron Davidowski (The D, P and R), the company specializes in technically challenging projects, including green/LEED™ projects for such customers as Aspect Communications, Lewis & Clark College, CarrAmerica, The Evergreen State College and the Lower Colorado River Authority. The privately held, employee-owned company employs more than 2,000 professional staff and union crafts persons across the country. For more information, please visit DPR's Website at http://www.dprinc.com.

About ABD Insurance and Financial Services: http://www.cybersure.com

ABD provides insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and risk management solutions to business clients across the United States and around the world. An industry leader and innovator, ABD is widely recognized for its collaborative, client focused culture and leading edge customer supportnow accessible 24 /7 via ABD's award winning Internet initiative, CyberSure®. ABD is a subsidiary of Greater Bay Bancorp (Nasdaq: GBBK), a financial services holding company. ABD now has 650 employees, 11 offices in strategic regional business centers across the western United States and annual revenues of approximately $110 million.