Seeing Green
The Maui News - Saturday, July 17, 2010 - C1
Building combines commercial durability with ‘green’ materials
Sometimes forward thinking people can be way ahead of the curve.
“Until Goodfellow (Brothers) started work on the new South Maui Community Park earlier this year, everyone who saw our ‘Two Daughters’ project thought we were crazy,” said Doug McLeod of DKK Properties LLC. “Now that the land has been reshaped by the contractors, we just look early, not crazy.”
Doug is talking about the office building at 2679 Wai Wai Place in Kihei named for his twin daughters.
“People are starting to get excited about this park because they can see what a huge change it can be toKihei. Ballfields, jogging . . . over 40 acres in all.”
The park is directly across fromthe new office building on what will be a new north south collector road. It is also adjacent to Lokelani Intermediate School on Liloa Drive.
To encourage a walkable community, the TwoDaughters property also includes a publicwalking path to connect the future community park with Kihei Business Park.
“From the beginning we knew two things,” said Doug of the project. “One, that we would build at a height that allowed the tenants to directly access the park. Two, because this was a park,wewould create a green building thatwould complement the park.” Doug is also in the process of having a shower installed for use by tenants who jog or bike to work.
“Our starting point is that a green building should take up as small a ‘footprint’ as possible,” Doug continued. “The ‘aina is precious so we try not to ‘spread out.’ For the Two Daughters project, we chose to excavate blue rock that most sane developers avoid at all cost. The reason was to provide our own parking underneath the building. Our builder Don Roth of 3DBuilders andDesign, Inc.was a great partner in all this. 3D helped us come up with a way to combine commercial durability with green materials. Mike Bailey of Bamboo Maui, Inc. provided his expertise and we were able to use cork in the elevator and second floor hallways, and a ‘stranded’ bamboo floor for heavy duty use. We also said from the beginning that we would build ADA compliant so everyone can use the facility.”
The blue rock excavated from the site was recycled into stone walls all over the island, including one at the property.
Energy efficient and energy producing commercial building
To minimize the impact of the project, the developer had to consider consumption of energy and other resources. As explained by Walter Enomoto of ProVision, the solar contractor for the project: “Doug McLeod and Don Roth of 3D Builders went above and beyond in terms of creating a building that is not only very energy efficient but energy producing. The Energy Star rated air conditioning systems, energy efficient lighting, advanced elevator system and 4500 watt Pro Vision Solar SunPower solar electric system all contribute to help the tenants of the Two Daughters Building enjoy these benefits for many years to come.”
DKK Properties LLC, in showing its commitment to clean energy, has been recognized by U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Recently, the project qualified for $15,150 in award money due to the developer’s commitment to investing in domestic renewable energy production.
Common areas of the building have operated as a “zero net” user of electricity in most months this year under a net metering agreement with MECO. Doug recognizes the building is not at full occupancy yet but it is retrofitted for additional photovoltaic panels should the need arise. Energy comes from the solar panels on the roof to MECO during the day, and power is taken fromMECO at night. The project also qualified for rebates from the Hawaii Energy Efficiency Program based on the ultra high efficiency air conditionerswith a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) rating of 21, the energy efficient lighting, and the high efficiency motors.
“No tenant has chosen to spend the money for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification yet, but we certainly would hope to qualify at the Silver level or higher under that program,” said Doug.
The office spaces can be leased separately or combined in a number of ways to accommodate different needs from 650 to over 3,600 square feet.
“It’s the best deal for green office space at $1.50 a square foot,” said Realtor (Sales) Gaen Gysel. He is one of the contact agents for the property with Prudential Commercial Services Iwado Realty.
“It’s brand new and our spaces are finished,” added Doug.
To learn more about the flexible leasing options, call Gaen at 270-9107.
