A Savannah based company that is a leader in the construction of environmentally sound and efficient buildings has developed two more structures that have been federally certified as “green buildings”.

As part of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design programs, the U.S. Green Building Council certified Melaver Inc.’s work on the Crestwood Building in Duluth, Ga., and certified Melaver’s company office in Birmingham, Ala.

The Crestwood Building met the standards of the LEED Existing Building program; the Melaver office met the standards of the LEED Commercial Interiors program.

The Crestwood building is the third building in Georgia – and the only multi-tenant office building to earn the LEED Existing Building certification.  The five-story structure has 94,000 square feet of office space and has also earned the Energy Star designation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.

“To achieve LEED-EB certification is a significant achievement because it requires us to retrofit an existing building to be more energy efficient,” says Scott Doksansky, director of portfolio management of Melaver Inc.  “Today, we use less water than the norm … we have access to mass transit encourage carpooling and benefit from the fact that a variety of services are available within walking distance.” 

Achieving LEED-EB certification means that a third party has examined the Crestwood building and its operational practices and verified that the owners are adhering to a strict standard established for environmentally friendly commercial buildings.  “Crestwood’s LEED-EB certification is indicative of Melaver’s commitment not only to the environment, but also to providing the highest quality workplace for their tenants,” said Jud Bass, president, Bass Commercial Realty, who handles leasing for the Crestwood building. “It is becoming increasingly important to tenants that a building energy efficient as well as a healthy place to work.”   

The Melaver building in Birmingham, meanwhile is the seventh LEED project in the company’s real estate portfolio.

“To achieve LEED-CI certification in 1,500 square feet was a challenge,” said Colin Coyne, chief operating officer for Savannah-based Melaver, Inc., and Birmingham resident.  “We’re committed to energy efficient, healthy work spaces, and see our office as a demonstration project for what is to come when we develop the former Federal Reserve Bank building for commercial use.”   

The federal reserve buiding is next door to the Melaver office and Melaver Inc. purchased the former Federal Reserve property in 2006 and plans to develop a multi-use LEED project on the site in 2008.  LEED-CI certification like LEED-EB certification required third party verification.  In this case, the standards pertain to environmentally friendly commercial interior spaces. 

Assets of the building include abundant daylighting, environmentally friendly, low-emitting finishes such as the carpet and paint, and re-use and recycling of materials incorporated into the space.   The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. LEED provides a roadmap for measuring and documenting success for every phase of a building cycle. 

Savannah based Melaver Inc. is a real estate firm that specializes in sustainable development and sustainable properties.  The company’s projects include one of the first Silver LEED designations from the U.S. Green Building Council for a historic preservation project in Savannah (the Whitaker Building), as well as the nation’s first retail LEED Core and Shell project – Abercorn Common Shopping Center.  The shopping center has the nation’s only LEED McDonald’s restaurant.