LEED Certified Building News Conference: Centerpoint

Building Connecticut’s Green-Economy for the 21^st Century Middlesex County Leading the Way

Middletown, CT (November 22, 2011) – The developers of Centerpoint Connecticut and the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce invite you to attend a news conference on Monday, November 28^th at 1:30pm. The leaders of Middletown, along with the region’s legislative delegation, will be joining us to announce the relocation of a leading “clean-tech” firm to Centerpoint Connecticut, the state’s first-ever “green” office complex for small businesses. The clean-tech company will be occupying the entire upper level of 6,200 square feet in the first newly constructed LEED® Silver registered building on the Centerpoint campus (first of seven buildings).

The interior has been built-to-suit with a complete innovative “green” floor plan design and finishes. According to the clean-tech firm’s CEO, “Centerpoint Connecticut’s design and construction matches with our corporate values of environmental and economic sustainability.” Centerpoint Connecticut was founded on environmental stewardship through the use of renewable materials, efficient technologies and sustainable design practices to minimize environmental impacts and provide significant operational cost savings through reduced energy consumption.

Find out who is relocating to Centerpoint Connecticut, how Middlesex County is focused on becoming the home for environmentally-friendly businesses and see firsthand how the emerging green economy is taking shape in central Connecticut.

Where: Centerpoint Connecticut 306 Industrial Park Road, Middletown

When: Monday, November 28^th at 1:30pm

Contact: Jon Crane

860-255-7524

JonCrane@CriticalPR.com

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Photo via http://nerej.com/47352 where more information about this unique building can be found.

Design Review & Preservation Board meeting - 10 December 2008

From Jennifer Saines:

A belated report on the Design Review & Preservation Board (usually referred to simply as DRB) meeting which immediately preceded the P&Z meeting Wednesday evening. I was only present for the presentation period of the meeting, and did not stay on to hear the board deliberate and discuss minutes or old business.

A similar thread ran through the Board’s response to the three projects that were presented – the role of the stationary automobile in design considerations. A major goal of the board is to recommend the reduction of parking spaces to the minimum required by city code, to ameliorate the heat radiated by parking lots by planting trees in islands, and to prevent the construction of parking lots in front of residential buildings.

For example, the proposed parking lot for business condos off of I-91, which is known as "Centerpoint" and boasts a gold LEED plan (see the story by Fishmuscle about the P&Z meeting last night in today’s Eye for more details), exceeded the minimum number of recommended spaces. The chairman, Mr. Jeff Bianco, advised that the number of parking spaces be reduced to the city minimum requirement. He also requested that the signage that will be visible from I-91 be reduced in size, as it exceeded code. Another board member recommended that the architect incorporate other types of surfacing such as pressed concrete to break up the monotony of the asphalt in the expansive parking lots. Pedestrian pathways could be delineated by such surfaces, he recommended. When asked if he had considered using porous surfacing material, the architect responded that the type of subsurface on the site was not conducive to proper drainage.

The Price Chopper proposal also came under scrutiny with respect to the sea of asphalt that fronts it. The board strongly recommended that the islands in that lot be planted according to DRB guidelines, and to consider constructing more islands. The representative from Price Chopper responded with the contention that any fewer spaces in the lot would be unacceptable to his corporation. Mr. Bianco noted that there exists plenty of overflow parking in the adjacent lot (Home Depot). Mr. Bianco also questioned the design of the front of the building (with respect to perceived access); according to a Price Chopper representative, the design was not accurately depicted on the drawings provided to the board.

The proposal by Habitat for Humanity to build a duplex on Ferry St. with two separate driveways and parking in front of the house garnered criticism from Mr. Bianco as well as members of the public (myself included). The design of the duplex could be changed and aligned close to the street in keeping with traditional streetscape design. And a single driveway could be used to gain access to the back of the house for parking. Habitat for Humanity representatives argued that an adjacent home had parking fronting the street, but Mr. Bianco pointed out in response that a bad precedent should not be imitated. Jennifer Alexander, as a member of the public, recommended that Habitat incorporate the design of the existing structure on the site, which will be razed as part of the ongoing redevelopment of the Ferry and Green Street areas.


The house on Ferry St., to be demolished by Nehemiah Housing/Habitat for Humanity. Photo added by Jen Alexander.