78 Trade Center Shines as it Strives for LEED Silver

by mowery | September 27, 2018 | Featured Project |

Mowery is proud to be a partner on the construction of 78 Trade Center, a new speculative warehouse in Shartlesville, Pennsylvania.  Located on an 89-acre campus in the logistics hub of Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, the one-million-square-foot warehouse includes 264 trailer parking spaces, 148 dock doors and 375 employee parking spaces. Once completed, this will be the largest LEED Silver project completed by Mowery.

What is LEED?

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a certification and methodology for building that ensures a holistic, well-designed and verified green building. Projects pursuing LEED certification earn points across several categories including energy use and air quality. Based on the number of points achieved, a project then earns one of four LEED rating levels through the US Green Building Council: Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum.

The owner has made LEED Certification a standard on their developments noting it is not only the right thing to do for the environment, but it also makes their buildings more competitive at the national level. Studies show LEED Buildings use less energy, are healthier for the occupants and have less deficiencies.

Achieving Silver Status

Mowery has worked in collaboration with both the owner and developer to raise the bar on the LEED credits obtained by the 78 Trade Center project while also minimizing costs. The project is uniquely designed that most (if not all) of this structure was either pre-fabricated or fabricated directly on-site, reducing the waste stream by nearly 90%. Other LEED initiatives include:

• The steel, concrete and wall panels are all made locally, reducing the overall carbon footprint of the building by decreasing the travel time to get materials to the site.
• All materials on the project are low or no VOC (volatile organic compound), raising indoor air quality significantly within the building.
• The building is entirely lit with LED lighting (both inside and out), which drastically reduces the energy consumption of the building.

In addition, the owner plans on working with their eventual tenants to advise them on how to build out the space so that it aligns with the LEED rating system. It is their goal to have finishes, fixtures and systems installed by tenants that will meet or exceed the LEED requirements.

Impact on Project Costs

LEED Sliver Certified buildings may seem like an expensive investment; however, being environmentally conscious doesn’t necessarily mean inflated project costs. When complete, 78 Trade Center will drastically exceed the conventional efficiency of a warehouse and become LEED Silver Certified for approximately one half of one percent (0.05%) of the overall project cost. This includes the cost of having a third-party commissioning agent inspect all systems for proper functioning and coordination such as plumbing, lighting, HVAC and controls.

Mowery is proud to have been a partner on the 78 Trade Center project and congratulates the entire team on their formalized and strategic commitment to sustainability on not only this project, but all projects in the portfolio.

Interested in learning more about LEED certification and how sustainability can be incorporated into your next project? Contact us today! At Mowery, we understand the impact our projects have on the community, the environment and most importantly the people that live, work and play within our facilities every day. As a result, we believe strongly in sustainable building principles and seek to incorporate them into every building project.