ELK RIVER, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Construction has started on Great River Energy’s new headquarters -- a sustainably designed office campus in Maple Grove, Minn. Located along Elm Creek Boulevard in the Arbor Lakes district of Maple Grove, the four-story, 166,000-square-foot office building will provide a workplace for more than 350 employees. A possible future expansion could result in a total of 300,000 square feet of office space. The 12.5-acre site is part of a former gravel pit that has become a successful new “main street” retail and commercial district. LEED Platinum Certification “We anticipate that our new headquarters in Maple Grove will be the most energy-efficient office building ever constructed in Minnesota and one of the most energy-efficient in the world,” says Great River Energy CEO David Saggau. Great River Energy is pursuing LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) platinum level certification for its new campus. The new office building will adhere to environmentally sustainable building practices, including: * reducing energy consumption by 50 percent when compared to standard new buildings, * reducing water usage by 40 percent when compared to standard new buildings, * diverting 75 percent of construction waste from landfills, * using recycled and locally manufactured materials, * capturing stormwater runoff in rain gardens throughout the parking areas and * delivering 10 to 15 percent of the building’s energy through on-site renewable energy sources. Great River Energy will transform wind energy into electricity through an on-site wind turbine and transform solar energy into electricity through roof-mounted photovoltaic cells. Plus, solar energy will be utilized to heat domestic hot water through a roof-mounted solar thermal system. Other innovative and cost-effective design strategies include: utilizing Arbor Lake for a geothermal heating and cooling system; providing under-floor displacement ventilation to dramatically improve indoor air quality and workplace productivity; harvesting daylight through narrow office floor plates and multiple light-filled atriums; using rainwater for site irrigation and the flushing of toilets; designing a poured in-place concrete structure that contains nearly 60 percent fly ash, a byproduct recycled from coal-based power plants; and installing new super-energy efficient “green” elevators that use 60 percent less energy and require less space. Currently, there are only 15 newly constructed LEED platinum level certified buildings worldwide. The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary international standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. The U.S. Green Building Council’s core purpose is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling a healthy and prosperous environment. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is the nation’s foremost coalition of leaders from every sector of the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.
