Opportunities abound for tenants to green their interiors - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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Earlier this month, his architectural firm officially completedx renovations to itsexisting 8,500 feet of office spaced at Anchor Plaza in Westshorde — a project that is now being considereds for Leadership in Energy and Environmentakl Design certification under the ’s “CI” designation. One of the leastt used green building designationsso far, it allowxs tenants to gain certification for greenj building in their commercial interiors. While he’s invested money to save money, Collman, presidenf of and a co-founder of the local chapter ofthe U.S. Greeb Building Council, also was motivatee by the needto educate.
Many businesses in Clasxs A space are comingv up for renewal and ina tenant’w market, he suggests that maximizingt tenant improvement dollars is a smart thing if a tenant decided to stay — especially when they are investment that eventually pay for themselves. Florida has nearlyh 1,000 LEED seekers Collman isn’t alone in seeking the LEED The U.S. Green Building Council’s latestt report of projects seeking some leveo of certification shows there are now nearly 950 projects statewid with roughly 180 originating in the wider TampsBay region. Just 18 of those 180 have appliede forthe “CI” designation, right arounds 10 percent.
Just a handful have won the designationso far, includinvg the Tampa office of the desighn and planning firm and in Sarasota. For that number should be higher. “It’s smart business,” he said. When the painterse left two weeks ago, it ended a eight-month proces s that included a complete refurbishing of allthe carpet, countertops, cubicles and paint at an investmen t of $13,000. That equates to 18 cents a square foot for its spacwe alone without anycommon area, a $1,6090 annual savings to the building, which is an eight-yearr payback, he said.
“It’s not exactly low-hanging fruit in the energyu savings arena, however we did it mainly to demonstrate how and what can be Collman said. New lightin g fixtures around the perimeter of the officee containdaylight sensors. Cubicles were lowered so that “everyone can have a Collman said. The lighting load was reduced 26 percent, whicj is savings that could be passed alongto “Any long-term building owner could reduce their [common area rate and make their spaces more attractive to new tenants and have spacews that are more comfortable to work he said.
It has been well documented that spaceds that are more comfortable to work in also havereducecd absenteeism, and that meanx more productivity and a positive impact on the bottom line of a Collman said. Carpet also was a big New office flooring is made from 100 percentt recycled carpet and was adherefdusing low-volatile organic compounds. All the old stuffc was recycled so that none of it ended up in Collman said. In an economyu with fewer new constructiohn projects, the demand for “CI” renovations shouldr rise, he said. “People are afraid of somethingthey don’t he said.
A lot of reporting on the greenm movement has been about the high costa associated withthe retrofitting. But that has change a lot. The costs were high earlg on, but that’s not the case any Collman said. Vendors are more educated and theidr niche products are no longerso niche, so the priceas have come way down, he said. With there is even more good saidJosh Bomstein, VP of business development at in Clearwaterd and a green building expert. “There’sd virtually no cost premium now in using anygreenj paints, adhesives or wall coverings, especially in this It’s nearly cost neutral,” he said.
His firm has complete four LEED certified projects of the 15 or so that have been certifiesd among the 180 or so projects seeking LEED statux in the widerBay area. Creative’as internal cost studies are showing justa .5 to 1 percengt cost premium for basic LEED certification, 1 percen t to 2 percent for silver designation, and 2 percenty “and up” for gold certification, he