The first phase of the 38-acre County Operations Center, located on Overland Avenue, was developed and completed by Lowe Enterprises and earned the LEED Gold Certification awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Lowe Enterprises completed the two office buildings each with an area of 150,000 sq ft including the latest environment-friendly materials, construction methods, and designs. The green energy efforts incorporated in the buildings will reduce the environmental impact and also cut down the functional costs of the building.
There are several windows to improve the natural light entering the building. The glazing systems and roofing are built to be energy-efficient and to lower heat gain. The buildings will utilize 28% less energy than other buildings that satisfy minimum energy performance standards. The efficient plumbing fixtures will allow the buildings to save around 40% on its water requirement. The solar electric system installed by San Diego Gas & Electric will allow the buildings to generate around 627,216 kWh every year, which is sufficient to power nearly 103 average houses in San Diego County. The landscaping designed for the buildings features plants that do not require much watering thus cutting down the water requirement by nearly 50%. The project utilized nearly 90% of the debris for reconstruction.
The second phase of the project construction is currently underway, when completed, the new building will have around 900,000 sq ft of office space meeting the stipulated standards to receive the LEED Gold Certification. The building will also have two structures earmarked for multi-level parking.
Source: http://www.loweenterprises.com/