The McKinney Green Building is not your typical suburban office building. In fact, the three-story edifice has earned pre-certification as a LEED® (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) platinum-rated building.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is expected to certify that rating when the building is inspected after completion. The platinum level is the USGBC’s highest rating.
The project is being developed by West World Holding, Inc., a subsidiary of Wereldhave N.V. Founded in 1930, the independent international property investment company has commercial real estate investments in Belgium, Finland, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
“Wereldhave has outlined a company-wide strategy regarding environmental issues as they relate to real estate owned and developed by the company,” said Sandra Heffernan of West World.
“With this strategy in mind and to demonstrate our commitment to the environment, we decided to design and build a LEED certified Platinum-rated, ‘Sustainable’ Class A green building in McKinney, Texas,” she said.
When completed in the fall of 2006, the 61,800-square-foot structure will serve as a model for energy conscious, environmentally friendly commercial development.
For this extraordinary project, Heffernan selected Andres to serve as the construction manager.
“Warren Andres is a member of the USGBC and LEED A.P.,” Heffernan said. “Warren and his team are very experienced and thoroughly understand the USGBC certification process.”
The McKinney Green Building will be environmentally friendly in a wide variety of ways.
Stormwater will be retained and used for irrigation.
A pervious paving system will reduce any “heat island effect.”
Water efficient plumbing systems will help the building consume 30 percent less water than a typical office building.
Energy consumption will be reduced by 60 percent through the use of a number of methods, including the use of Geo-thermal heat pump HVAC systems, utilization of natural daylight, sunshade devices, solar hot water heating, and exhaust air heat recovery. Over 10 percent of the energy use of this building will be produced by on-site photovoltaic panels.
Those inside will breathe easy because an indoor air quality (IAQ) plan will be followed throughout the construction process.
“This air quality plan will contribute to healthier tenants,” Heffernan said.
More than 75 percent of the construction waste generated at this site will be recycled and will not go to a landfill. More than 20 percent of the project’s materials will be manufactured locally and more than 50 percent of the project’s materials will contain recycled content.
The McKinney Green Building was designed by HDR Architecture, Inc. Austin Commercial is serving as the general contractor. The building is located at 4500 Eldorado Parkway in McKinney.