COVER STORY, JANUARY 2005

GOING GREEN DOWNTOWN:
The environmental benefits of adaptive reuse in an urban setting.
Glenn Giles

Giles

In a typical year, building construction consumes 30 billion board feet of lumber, 50 million tons of concrete and vast quantities of other resources. More and more people — architects, contractors, government officials and others — are realizing that it is imperative to change the way we build and develop land. Choosing construction methods and materials that are resource-efficient and low in embodied energy is essential.

One of those methods, adaptive reuse, is great at maximizing the profit potential of a building site and is also extremely eco-efficient. Ideally, in any project, the green team should consist of the builder, the architect/designer, trade contractors (especially insulation and HVAC representatives), land planners, suppliers, manufacturers, landscape architects and construction specialists — the entire crew on the project — as each brings special expertise to the process.

ARC Avenue architects and Giles Construction Group recently converted Pine Crest Village in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to condominiums.

Recently, ARC Avenue architects and the Giles Construction Group finished adapting Pine Crest Village in the heart of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Pine Crest Village exemplifies the downtown, residential adaptive reuse trend. Built in the late 1960s, Pine Crest was initially a rental apartment community. The owners made the strategic decision to convert it into luxury condominiums rather than demolishing and rebuilding. The following are just some of the environmental benefits of this project.

Reduction of Resources Used and Waste Produced

Since adaptive reuse projects may use most, if not all, of the existing building’s infrastructure, it dramatically cuts down the amount of concrete and lumber (materials that are taken from the existing ecosystem) used for the project as compared to new construction. The key is that it recycles the existing building materials already used. Adaptive reuse also reduces the amount of demolished-building waste that currently clogs our nation’s landfills with reusable materials. Finally, there is a noticeable reduction in the energy consumption needed with adaptive reuse when compared to tear-down/build-new projects, not to mention that the fewer number of heavy trucks needed for any project means far less fuel consumption and the reduction of carbon monoxide to the existing micro-climate.

Responsible Energy Use

Energy efficiency should be the cornerstone of any environmental-friendly building program, as it was with the Pine Crest project. We upgraded the mechanical systems (air conditioning, lighting) to more efficient ones. Insulated-glass windows with Low-E coatings were installed to control the indoor temperature and help reduce the time and power needed to run the air conditioning unit. Ensuring that the HVAC system was properly designed and the right size also lead to greater energy efficiency for the building.

Conservation of the Greenspace

The cost of demolition and then rebuilding is very expensive. As Pine Crest Village was an adaptive reuse project, the cost for the redesign and renovations was significantly lower and the developers were able to make a fine profit on their money by enlarging and enhancing the units within the current footprint of the building. Due to this, we were able to retain the acre of lawn and trees on the 5-acre property, where a minimum of one-third of that greenspace would have been sacrificed in the name of profits if this had been a tear-down/build-new project. In short, if the existing structures had been totally demolished, a much denser — and less attractive and marketable — property would have been developed.

Improving the Micro-Climate Air Quality

Already we had staved off a negative effect on the micro-climate air quality by retaining the land that was undeveloped. But we felt that simply conserving the already-existing verdant areas wasn’t enough; we enhanced the landscape plan to provide for increased grass coverage and additional trees, which increases the oxygen content in the immediate surroundings. Air quality was further enhanced by reducing 21 percent of living spaces during the adaptive reuse project (Pine Crest went from 323 units to 255). This reduces traffic and car trips, leading to less carbon monoxide in the immediate micro-climate.

By reducing the number of residents and increasing the greenspace, the air quality was significantly improved. This proved to be another selling point in the urban community.

Maintaining Habitat, Ecosystems and Water Quality

Again, given that adaptive reuse doesn’t change the current building footprint, Pine Crest had no impact on the local habitat, ecosystem or water quality. The highly sensitive greenways and buffer zones were left intact, preserving the local habitat and ecosystem integrity. Additionally, as impervious surfaces were not expanded, the Pine Crest project preserves the local greenspace area used to capture rainfall at a constant, maintaining the local water quality at its current purity levels.

The techniques executed at Pine Crest Village have created tangible environmental improvements. Naturally, each builder, remodeler or architect must evaluate and decide which green advantages best fit what they do. For ARC Avenue and Giles Construction, the Pine Crest Village project demonstrated to us that the environmental advantages implemented in an adaptive reuse program are diverse and effective — and can even be profitable.

Glenn Giles is president of ARC Avenue Inc. and Giles Construction Group of Hollywood, Florida.

THE TIDES ON HOLLYWOOD BEACH Hollywood Beach, Florida MCZ/Centrum Florida has purchased Oceancrest Beach in Hollywood Beach. The property includes three 16-story towers located at 3801, 3901 and 4001 S. Ocean Dr. The new owner plans to renovate and convert the rental property into a condominium community offering 943 one-, two- and three-bedroom homes. MCZ/Centrum Florida is a partnership between two Chicago-based developers, Centrum Properties and MCZ Development. Archstone-Smith Trust sold the buildings for $160 million; Jay Massirman of CB Richard Ellis brokered the deal.

VALENCIA APARTMENTS Miami Atlanta-based Vista Realty Partners has formed a joint venture and acquired Valencia Apartments in Miami for $50 million. The 294-unit luxury community features 564 parking spaces within an attached, self-contained parking garage. The venture plans to convert the project to condominiums with prices ranging from $150,000 to $275,000. The property is located near the South Miami Metrorail Station, Downtown Miami, Coral Gables, the University of Miami, Kendall and Airport West. Corus Bank provided acquisition and redevelopment financing of approximately $45 million.

LE CLUB AT OLD CUTLER Miami Le Club Development LLC is converting Le Club at Old Cutler, a 332-unit gated rental complex at 8630 S.W. 212th St. in Miami, into a condominium community. One- and two-bedroom units will be priced from $129,900 to $167,900. Guillermo Feliz of KOM is upgrading the 15-acre property and enhancing its features. The lakeside community encompasses 14 garden-style buildings and a clubhouse.

OCEAN GROVE Ponte Vedra, Florida Prospect Capital Group and Perimeter Realty are converting Arbor Club Apartments into a gated luxury condominium community called Ocean Grove. One-, two- and three-bedroom homes — each with private beach access — are priced from $125,000. Todd Cohen of Primary Capital Advisors arranged the acquisition and conversion loan.

401 BLU Miami’s North Beach Comprehensive Management Services (CMS) is converting the 206-unit rental building at 401 69th St. in Miami’s North Beach area into a for-sale condominium building called 401 BLU. The original structure of the 16-story building will be preserved, and more than $7 million in renovations will be made to the interior components of the building’s amenities and units. Condo prices range from the high $100,000s to more than $400,000. CMS purchased the building, originally called Byron Hall Apartments, from Byron Hall Ltd. for $28 million last year. LEM Mezzanine provided acquisition financing.

THE HAMPTONS AT METROWEST Orlando, Florida Tarragon South Development Corporation and Sunvest Communities LLC are converting Park Avenue Apartments in the MetroWest area of Orlando to condominiums. The property will be renamed The Hamptons at MetroWest. As of the beginning of this month, 375 of the 743 units at The Hamptons are available for purchase with prices starting in the low $100,000s. The Hamptons boasts several diverse living options: one-, two- and three-bedroom homes are available in a variety of styles, including garden flats, dual-entry townhomes with attached and detached garages, and SoHo lofts.

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