CarterBlog

Project Update: Carter Renovates Historic Building at Spelman College

By Tom Lawrence, vice president, Carter

ATLANTA (Nov. 2, 2011) - In February, Carter was selected as program manager for the renovations to Laura Spelman Hall located on the historic oval of Spelman College’s campus. Thanks to my colleagues also working on the project, Gary Pateau, Mitsu Parker and Chris Barnett, the renovations are progressing on schedule, and we wanted to give a mid-project update.

We received our building permit in early May, and construction commenced in June after students moved out. The renovation program called for student residential, academic, and support space to occupy the building’s three levels. The ground floor will have lounge and meeting rooms, a psychology lab, technology lab and a conference room with state-of-the-art audio/visual and teleconference systems. The upper two floors will contain 40 student beds in double-occupancy rooms, group bathrooms and study spaces.

Before the renovations, a facility assessment study identified numerous deficiencies with the historic structure including lack of central heating and air conditioning, waterproofing and life safety issues. Spelman College decided to vacate the building for one academic year and perform a thorough renovation.

Following selective demolition to the original building structure, several renovations will be made. They include a new slate roof, repointing of exterior masonry, restoration of historic limestone accents and insertion of an elevator and new egress stairs. Upon completion, the building will have new mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and voice/data systems. We connected the building to campus-chilled water and steam loops and each student room will have individual temperature control. To provide students with additional social and study space, an outdoor terrace was constructed in the rear yard of Laura Spelman Hall.

The project is seeking LEED silver certification and we are targeting final completion early next summer.

The historic building was designed by Hentz, Reid & Adler and completed in 1918.  The original home of the college’s Home Economics program, it was converted to the school of nursing in 1930. Most recently the building has been used for a child development center on the ground floor and student housing. 

 

Retro Commissioning — Building tune ups

By Jonathon Barge, vice president of program development, Carter

ATLANTA (Nov. 1, 2011) - As utility costs continue to rise, building owners are using retro commissioning to gain energy efficiency and drive down operating costs.

Certification programs such as LEED for Existing Buildings and Energy Star encourage the practice of retro commissioning, and the more successful the implementation, the higher the scores.

Retro commissioning is the process of tuning up a building to get peak performance out of all building systems. It reviews mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems, as well as the building envelope and controls systems to identify problems and propose solutions. The investigation can include data logging, trending and functional testing of building systems as well as historic utility use analysis.

At Carter, we completed retro commissioning this year on two buildings pursuing LEED certification. In both projects we discovered multiple ways to improve building efficiency that ultimately led to greater occupant comfort, improved productivity and lower operating costs.

Some examples of the findings included:broken or un-calibrated sensors; unbalanced airflows; system set points that were out of range; equipment malfunctions; and lights left on 24/7. The associated cost savings ranged in value from a few hundred dollars up to several thousand dollars per year. The process also satisfied valuable LEED credits and helped building management plan for future capital improvement budgets.

We have seen significant improvement through retro commissioning and expect to see more and more owners using it in the future.

 

Carter and Starwood Vacation Ownership Celebrate Seven Years and Counting

By Sarah Peddar, business development manager, Carter

ORLANDO, Fla. (Oct. 27, 2011) -Carter associates Amy Hunt and Nan Loudon of the Interior Project Team recently hosted a group of 15 at Ocean Prime in Orlando, Fla., to celebrate the seven-year relationship between Carter and the Starwood Vacation Ownership facilities group. The get-together also recognized the recent completion of the Sheraton Vistana Resort project. 

Guests enjoyed cocktails on the terrace, followed by a delicious meal of steak and seafood. Conversation centered around a timeline displayed on the wall of the Carter/SVO relationship history. Highlights included completed projects and memorable moments, one of the most entertaining being the story of a wild chicken attacking one of the team members while on location in St. John!

One of Hunt’s primary focuses over the past few years was the Sheraton Vistana Resort project. SVR’s renovations spanned from September 2007 through September 2011 and encompassed 1,682 renovated units benefiting 85,782 owners. Since the completion, SVR has become one of the top five ranked vacation ownership properties in the SVO portfolio. They have seen a 23 percent decrease in energy consumption and most recently received an award for leadership in energy efficiency, making it the most energy efficient property in the Starwood Hotel group.

The longstanding relationship between these two organizations began in 2004, when Carter was hired to manage SVO’s corporate campus build-out and relocation. This evolved into work with their vacation ownership properties and now the relationship continues with several new projects forecasted for 2012 and 2013. As evidence of how in-sync Carter and SVO are, both teams covertly planned to present each other with a commemorative memento honoring the SVR completion – both were small Lucite blocks with the project dates and team logos! 

Hunt acknowledges how much she likes working with this group, “It is a fun departure from interior commercial renovations, and I enjoy being part of the team that enhances so many vacation experiences through the improvements at resorts like SVR,” she said.

 

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton’s Renovated Atlanta Office

ATLANTA (Oct. 14, 2011) -The Carter Interiors Project Team recently completed a restack consolidation for Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, LLP at 1100 Peachtree. The restack involved the 227,000 square feet the law firm now occupies on 11 floors at 1100 Peachtree.

Cooper Carry designed the space. The design firm did an excellent job of maintaining the fine finishes that had been put in place 20 years ago while still updating the space with a flexible core configuration using DIRTT demountable system walls and more contemporary, simplified finishes. 

Check out new photography of the space below!

The Carter Interiors Project Team

The Carter Interiors Project Team actively manages every aspect of clients’ interior projects, including build-outs and renovations. Delivering one million square feet each year, the team has a broad range of experience in a large variety of product types and client situations. With several LEED- and Green Globe-certified interiors projects, the team members are experts in creating sustainable interior environments. By maintaining a laser focus on their clients’ goals and objectives, they allow clients to spend their time on their core business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Georgia Power’s Headquarters is Awarded LEED Certification

By Malloy Peterson, vice president of marketing, Carter

ATLANTA (July 06, 2011) – Carter is pleased to announce its involvement in helping Georgia Power achieve LEED EB certification for its headquarters located at 241 Ralph McGill Blvd. Through sustainable strategies in energy and water use, product selection, and building operations, Georgia Power has been awarded LEED Certification. LEED is an internationally recognized building certification system, established by the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute, promoting sustainable building practices. LEED is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

This achievement is the result of a collaborative effort between Carter’s program development services and property and facilities management teams. Jonathon Barge, Vice President, served as the LEED administrator and the building team led by General Manager Kelly Furr documented the building’s sustainable features. Carter has worked on over 30 LEED projects. This effort continues Carter’s longstanding relationship with Georgia Power.

“Carter enjoys a great relationship with Georgia Power and we are very proud to help them achieve this prestigious certification,” said Barge. “Georgia Power’s dedication to sustainable initiatives continues to drive down building operational costs and improve employee health and safety.”

LEED certification of 241 Ralph McGill included many green building operations and maintenance programs. A comprehensive recycling policy diverts 100 percent of electronic waste and nearly 60 percent of total building waste from landfills and includes a composting program for food and landscape waste.  Plumbing fixture upgrades achieve a 10 percent reduction in water use. Georgia Power’s SmartRide program reduces conventional commuting trips by employees by 17 percent. Nearly 80 percent of cleaning products and 66 percent of the building’s ongoing consumables meet strict sustainable criteria. The facilities team continues to improve energy performance for the Energy Star rated building through system upgrades and the ongoing solar demonstration project, which promotes solar usage in Georgia. The energy produced from the solar arrays offset building energy use and contribute to the building’s carbon emissions reduction efforts.

“Because Georgia Power provides services and products to help our customers become more sustainable, including green energy and numerous energy efficiency programs, it only makes sense for us to show our customers we are making our operations, including corporate activities, as sustainable as possible,” said Don Swinford, corporate facilities manager.  

 

Carter Goes Beyond Green with Environmental Optimization

By: Jonathon Barge, vice president at Carter

At today’s Bisnow Sustainability Summit, I had the opportunity to speak on the panel regarding Carter’s environmental optimization efforts. We all want to reduce operating costs and make our buildings as efficient as possible, but it is also critical for us to make the office a healthy place to spend time as well as a place that teaches and promotes sustainable practices. Watch the video for a clip of the panel discussion and read my expanded thoughts on the topic below. 

It is also important to know about how a building or project can become more sustainable.  However, in reality, not all buildings can qualify for Energy Star or be LEED certified. At Carter we have a process in our efforts to “Go Beyond Green.” We practice Environmental Optimization, or, making the best out of the current circumstance. If a new project or existing building is not able to pursue formal certification we work through a process with goals to reduce energy and water use, make smart purchase decisions, reduce waste, create a healthy work environment and create opportunities to teach building occupants the impact of those improvements. The most important aspect being that we simply do something. Even if it is something small, it is still an improvement towards making a project more sustainable.

For example, with regards to energy-and-water-use reduction, the first thing needed is data. We start by gathering historical usage data. The Energy Star portfolio manager is a great place to track and compare data. Gathering meter data and comparing it to data from similar projects helps building teams to develop efficiency improvements. This enables a project to document measurable success.

In addition to Energy Star there are other programs aimed at reducing energy-use like BOMA’s Seven Point Challenge and BOMA 360, which recognizes high performance buildings. All three office towers managed by Carter in Atlantic Station have achieved this designation. 

We all have choices when it comes to which products to buy in day-to-day building operations. Today there are numerous products available that are better for the environment than others and many are competitively priced. To improve the environmental impact of building consumables, I would recommend an analysis of purchases in order to find ways to make better selections and use less, if possible. The LEED for Existing Buildings guidelines are a great resource as owners research sustainable options in their ongoing consumables. The use of greener consumables also supports the goal of a healthier work environment.

In addition to looking at what is being brought into the building it is also important to remember what is leaving the building. Diverting trash that can be recycled into recycling streams instead of going to the landfill is a simple way to make a significant impact. Successful recycling programs give tenants multiple opportunities to recycle and provide constant reminders to occupants to follow the program.  It is also a good idea to report on the progress and benefits. That is a teaching opportunity which encourages and promotes additional sustainable support. At 171 17th Street in Atlantic Station, more than 60 percent of our waste is recycled, and through waste audits we have found that there is still room for improvement. 

Jonathon Barge provides a highly technical perspective to projects by drawing from his Mechanical Engineering design background and complex, large-scale construction experience. With over 13 years of experience in design and project management, Jonathon can understand and overcome daily field issues to keep projects moving towards successful completion. He has consistently completed challenging projects while protecting owners interests with an organized and detailed project management approach.

Carter LEEDs in Sustainable-Building Practices

By: Jeff Clayton RPA, SMA, LEED AP, director of technical services at Carter

The built environment has a significant impact on our natural environment, economy, health and productivity. As such, the LEED green building certification program offers us the opportunity to respond to important challenges relative to preserving the environment, eliminating our dependence on non-sustainable and expensive sources of energy and improving human health.  

The LEED Accredited Professional (AP) certification program provides individuals the training and expertise they need to help clients understand the importance of various actions on the built environment.  This knowledge base also allows LEED Accredited Professionals the ability to develop and implement sustainable initiatives and best practices within our own organizations.

Implementing sustainable actions and obtaining LEED certification helps Carter’s client-owners and investors become leaders in the industry, demonstrating a commitment to the environment and to social responsibility.  LEED practices have been proven to reduce operating costs, enhance a building's value and increase return on investment, occupancy and rental rates.  This emphasis on sustainability and energy conservation now will provide dividends for many generations to come.

Today, Carter boasts numerous LEED Accredited Professionals among its various business units.  These associates have honed their skills among 26 LEED projects, including Platinum, Gold, and Silver certified office, educational, interiors, retail, and residential projects, which encompass five million square feet.

Jeff Clayton is responsible for providing overall technical support and oversight for all Carter-managed buildings, as well as implementing environmental, health and safety training programs. In addition, Jeff has overall responsibility for the administration of Carter's web-based software system, CarterConnect, as well as Carter's technical quality assurance program.