Page 170 - The Green Building Bottom Line The Real Cost of Sustainable Building

LEARNING FROM A LEED PILOT PROJECT 149

Although we can’t directly attribute the change to our efforts to reduce stormwater
runoff, we do know that flooding in the Fairmount Basin has lessened considerably.

Greening the In-Line

Shopping Center

The in-line portion Abercorn Common (187,000 total square feet) posed some inter-
esting challenges, enhanced by having to integrate renovation of the old with devel-
opment of new sections, while also having to manage the LEED program differently
for existing versus new tenants. Not atypically for a renovation project, we were
tasked with constructing the site to LEED standards while limiting the daily impacts
on existing tenants by working in stages, which caused numerous starts and stops
over the two years of construction. For the stores that were tenants at the time—
Michaels, Books-A-Million, HomeGoods, and McDonald’s—participation in the LEED
program was voluntary. Some tenants chose to participate, while others did not. The
two that did participate (Michaels and McDonald’s) received a new building. Their
relocating provided the perfect opportunity for us to work with their building and de-
sign professionals to pass along what we had learned about green building practices.
We were, in some instances, successful in improving the tenants’ base building plans.
The two tenants that opted not to participate at the time of the redevelopment,
Books-A-Million and HomeGoods, received cosmetic upgrades to their storefronts so
they would complement the new facade design of the shopping center. Their roofs,
like those on the rest of the center, were covered with the highly reflective white TPO
membrane (which improved their stores’ energy performance).
All of the new tenants benefited from the enhanced site improvements. For LEED
certification purposes, tenants that could not fully participate in our program were
included in the site credits but not for credits where we had no control, such as energy
and water modifications in their stores.
For the new tenant spaces (where we were responsible for the design and construc-
tion of the building envelope), we provided high-efficiency base lighting, HVAC, and
plumbing fixtures. Tenants were responsible for their own interiors. However, our
lease provides tenant guidelines that explain the LEED Core and Shell program, offer
insight into the LEED Commercial Interiors program, and suggest the use of low-
impact building materials.
One tenant, Locos Grill and Bar, considered pursuing LEED Commercial Inte-
riors certification and worked with an architect to incorporate environmentally
friendly design elements, including energy-efficient lighting and plumbing fixtures
and furnishings made from wheatboard, an emissions-free alternative to particle
board that’s made from recycled wheat chaff and formaldehyde-free binders. While
the tenant probably met LEED standards, it ultimately decided not to complete for-
mal certification.