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Even when the new office building at 111 Mission Ranch Boulevard is completed in mid-January, employees won't be able to move in for another two weeks.
That stretch gives the building a chance to air out, ensuring that employees are not to be exposed to "off-gassing" as paint, carpeting and new furniture lose their chemical odors.
That means dollars to the tenant and owner, but it's a criteria that has to be respected as part of this building's "greenness" and the standards set by the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council.
To the owners' knowledge, this is the first "green" building project of its kind in Chico and north of Sacramento.
Its construction follows the tenets of the U.S. Green Building Council, a private organization whose standards are embraced nationally, as well as by the state of California.
"It wasn't cheap," said building co-owner Jim Stevens of North Star Engineering. But Stevens acknowledges building the green way is the right way.
Stevens and three other Chicoans own the building, which will become the new home of North Star Engineering and two other companies. Other building owners are Dan Gonzales, Mark Adams and Neil Graber, all of Chico.
The 11,000-square-foot building's still-growing price tag is well over $1 million,
according to Stevens.
Nevertheless, building green by using environmentally- and worker-friendly means has hiked the cost by only about 5 percent more than a non-green version, Stevens said.
Twenty-two-year-old North Star Engineering has outgrown its current quarters in Philadelphia Square, and decided that its next home should be green -- partly for principle, partly for marketing the company's new capabilities.
North Star will occupy 8,000 square feet, with 1,500 square feet for two other tenants.
Two North Star employees have gone through training offered by the U.S. Green Building Council's "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design" program, shortened to LEED.
In 2004, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decreed that newly built government buildings must follow LEED standards.
"A lot of people ask me why we should do this; do we want a huge federal rebate?" said North Star engineer Steve Mickelson. "The way we see it, it's the responsible thing to do."
Mickelson was certified by the council as a LEED consultant, and North Star engineer Mike Main was certified as a LEED commissioner. Both spent a week in training and had to pass a test to prove their capabilities.
As a LEED commissioner, Main has to gather the documentation that proves
certain steps have been taken, which will be reviewed by the Green Building Council.
"We've had an interest in green design, and I know Chico seems to care about the environment quite a bit," said Mickelson, who is now qualified to consult with other projects on LEED standards and processes.
"First, it's good for the environment, then you use less resources, then it's good for employees, and you'll lower utility bills," Mickelson said.
According to Lanny Clavecilla of the California Integrated Waste Management Board, which endorses the LEED standards, California wants to encourage energy efficiency.
"Basically, it's a push to make office buildings, especially government buildings, more energy efficient, with a view toward conserving materials, water and the environment."
Two decrees, one from former Gov. Gray Davis and the most recent from Schwarzenegger, ordered that new state buildings be built to LEED's silver rating, Clavecilla said.
The Green Building Council puts out a point-based checklist and bestows certification levels by accumulated points. From lowest to highest, the ratings are certified silver, gold and platinum.
North Star is shooting for a silver rating as well.
The key areas for a building's evaluation include site sustainability;
water efficiency; energy and atmosphere; materials and resources; and indoor environmental quality.
The two-week waiting period for occupancy is one of the criteria.
Once the building is complete, the owners will submit paperwork and wait for an inspection from the council before knowing their building is "certified" green.
"Twenty years ago, a green design had to do with solar panels. Now it's much more," said Mickelson.
While principle was the main reason, Stevens said his company should save on energy costs by at least 25 percent.
Chico may be seeing more certified green buildings, according to Mickelson, who sees interest growing in the residential arena as well.
Local contractor Pat Conroy of Conroy Construction said he expected the process to be worse than it was, although there were tough hauls.
Much of those had to do with research into LEED levels and finding the right vendors of the right materials.
After his research, Conroy found out that only 30 buildings in the state comply with LEED certification, and of those only a dozen are privately owned. The latter were generally large corporations.
"I was hesitant," Conroy said. "It surprised me that (Stevens) wanted to do this. I thought it would be cost-prohibitive."
Conroy estimates the research amounted to hundreds of hours for his company, time he has decided not to charge for, hoping to use the knowledge in other construction projects.
Conroy called the process "a tremendous amount of work for suppliers," who didn't need to bother at a time when work abounds.
Probably a couple of dozen subcontractors had to spend the time doing their own research on LEED levels and finding acceptable materials, he said.
"Everyone was receptive," Conroy said, admitting he was more than a little surprised at the response.
Even so, very few of the acceptable supplies were available locally.
"We found products that we had never used before. Now we can tell others," said Conroy, who has been building in Chico and the north state for 29 years.
Conroy said the project had little interaction with the city Building Department because the LEED standards are higher than most of the city's codes.
"California minimums are so strict on certain things that it falls into LEED levels, and LEED is over and above what local codes require too," Conroy said.
City planner Ed Palmeri saw the project when it came before the city Architectural Review Board.
"It was quite an educational process," said Palmeri. "There
were certain issues that we needed to take into account, that had been set by LEED."
Even though Palmeri noted that LEED standards are fairly significant and tough to meet, he believes the number of LEED projects will increase.
"I imagine we'll see more structures like this, given more energy costs and expenses that we'll be facing."
Because of the holidays, no representative was available from the U.S. Green Building Council to comment on the Chico project.
According to the council's Web site, www.usgbc.org, the council's commercial program was established in 2000. As of November, 359 commercial buildings had been certified, and a total of 3,000 projects had been registered to become LEED certified.
Business editor Laura Urseny can be reached at 896-7756 or lurseny@chicoer.com.
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