With 17.8% of the total building materials content, by value, manufactured using recycled products, DOXA was pleased to accept the LEED Gold level certification this month for its newest Phoenix adaptive reuse development project.
Located at Buckeye Rd. and 16th St. and once home to the original Smitty’s Grocery store, the 60,000 SF refurbished building now houses the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ primary regional office.
An internationally recognized mark of excellence, LEED certification was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and is verified and awarded by third party, Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI).
The designation provides independent, third-party verification that a building was designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
Through the course of construction, DOXA diverted 96.64% of waste from landfills, using 11.97 percent of salvaged, refurbished or reused materials from the original building. The new building also utilized regional materials, totaling 33.1% of the total building materials, lowering the financial and environmental cost of delivery and stimulating the local economy.
In addition to sustainable construction methods, LEED certification emphasizes sensitivity to a building’s occupants. As such, DOXA has taken a number of measures to increase the health, safety and comfort level in the building, including the use of paint and interior materials low in Volatile Organic Compounds; heating and cooling systems free of dangerous chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) based refrigerants; and a redesigned building envelope which doubled the existing insulation.
The redevelopment also reduced potable water use by 54.6% through the installation of high efficiency water closets and urinals and low flow lavatory faucets.
“As landlord, our obligation was to obtain a LEED Silver Certification for the building,” said Dan Wilhelm, DOXA principle. “Achieving LEED Gold demonstrates our commitment to increasing measureable energy efficiency for this and all other DOXA buildings where the government is the tenant.”
