Pirtle Construction Company Awarded LEED® Green Building Certification
9/28/08
Davie, Fla., September 28, 2008 – Pirtle Construction Company announced today that it has been awarded LEED Silver Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for its Corporate Office in Davie, Florida. LEED is USGBC’s leading rating system for designing and constructing the world’s greenest, most energy efficient, and high performing buildings.
“Pirtle Construction Company is to be congratulated for achieving LEED Silver Certification,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO, Founding Chair, USGBC. “The certification of Silver sends a message that Pirtle Construction cares about the health of its employees and the environment. This office building will be a showcase for high-performance, energy–efficient, healthy working environment and an inspiration to others.”
“This monumental accomplishment would not have been possible without the commitment of the Pirtle project team,” adds Pirtle. “All of the people that worked on this project were very interested in seeing that we build a LEED building and took pride in every aspect of the project.” The Pirtle team consisted of James B. Pirtle, President, Bill Ellis, Assistant Vice President, Jeff Miles, Project Manager, Jim Pirtle, Jr., Superintendent, Jimmy Pirtle, III, Superintendent, and Eileen See, LEED Coordinator.
LEED certification of the Pirtle Construction Company Headquarters was based on a number of green design and construction features that positively impact the project itself and the broader community. These features include:
- 50% reduction in water use for irrigation
- 42.7% reduction for plumbing fixtures
- Energy efficiency is being achieved with a reduced solar heat gain due to reflective roofing materials, windows, and improved insulation values
- Lutron Ecosystem integrated lighting controls with daylighting and occupancy levels to reduce the use of electricity
- Green Power was purchased to offset the building’s anticipated energy use.
- Construction Waste Management Plan achieved an 82% diversion of waste from landfills
- Parking is set aside for fuel-efficient vehicles as well as carpools
- Indoor Air Quality Plan
- Recycled materials such as Green Label Carpet
- Purchase of building materials locally to maximize the use of regional and recycled materials
- Landscaping using only native plants and maximized open space for encouragement of species
“As not only the Owner and Financier, but the builder and tenant, the knowledge and experience the team gained from being involved in every LEED aspect of this project from design to completion, offers a true advantage to our clients looking to build LEED in the future,” says James B. Pirtle, President.
In addition to this prestigious honor, Pirtle Construction Company Corporate Office recently received the Gold Medal Award from The Real Estate & Construction Review as well as the 2007 Real Estate Deal of the Year – Office Building from the South Florida Business Journal.
About the U.S. Green Building Council: The U. S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit membership organization whose vision is a sustainable built environment within a generation. Its membership includes corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and other nonprofit organizations. Since USGBC’s founding in 1993, the Council has grown to more than 13,000 member companies and organizations, a comprehensive family of LEED® green building rating systems, an expansive educational offering, the industry’s popular Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, and a network of 72 local chapters, affiliates, and organizing groups. For more information, visit www.usgbc.org.
About LEED® - The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is a feature-oriented rating system that awards buildings points for satisfying specified green building criteria. The six major environmental categories of review include: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation and Design. Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum levels of LEED green building certification are awarded based on the total number of points earned within each LEED category. LEED verifies environmental performance, occupant health and financial return. LEED was established for market leaders to design and construction buildings that protect and save precious resources while also making good economic sense. Incentives for LEED are available at the state and local level and LEED has also been adopted nationwide by federal agencies, state and local governments, and interested private companies. For more information, visit, www.usgbc.org.
Pirtle Construction Company provides Construction Management and Design Build services for public, commercial and institutional facilities including K-12 schools, higher education, libraries, police and fire stations, public offices, fire/police stations and parking garages in South Florida. Headquartered in Davie, Fla., the company has completed more than 400 facilities throughout south Florida since its inception in 1968. Pirtle is committed to sustainable construction and its impact on the environment. The company has built/is building 11 LEED projects including Pine Jog Elementary School, upon certification will be the 1st LEED public school in South Florida, and FAU Environmental Center, both working toward LEED Gold certification; the Broward County Children’s Reading Center and Museum; the South Regional/BCC Joint Use Library, a LEED Silver Certified building and the 1st LEED building in Broward County; Pine Crest Lower School and Administration Building on the Boca Campus; and the FAU/UF Joint Use Facility. For more information call (954) 797-0410.
Contact Info:
Shelise Derks
Pirtle Construction
(954) 797-0410
shelise@PirtleConstruction.com
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