With all the bad news that we’ve had lately regarding the economy, it was very refreshing to attend this mornings press conference announcing the new AI Tech Center project that is expected to break ground this coming February.  Not only is it the first large scale commercial project in downtown Hartford in some time, the building’s owner/operator and anchor tenant, AI Engineers, has registered the project with the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program and hopes to achieve the Platinum level, the highest level the Council awards. 

With this news, Hartford continues to slowly add green commercial square footage to its Class A inventory.  The AI building will be the first New Construction (NC) leasable LEED building in Hartford.  It joins the Aetna Customer Care Center on Farmington Ave., the Edwards, Angell, Palmer and Dodge Law office at 20 Church Street and several floors of The Phoenix building as the only LEED registered commercial spaces in the city.  The others are registered in the LEED Commercial Interiors (CI) program. 

So is this is a risk at a time when there’s uncertainty in the economy and the real estate market?  A little, but this news comes at a time when the city is just starting to find its identity and is a sign that all is not dead when it comes to economic development.  At the press conference, president and CEO, Abul A. Islam and his team at AI made a huge statement that he and the company are willing to invest in the city and spur economic growth and create jobs, some of which will be green.  Islam has also made a commitment to the community by stressing the need to create a place that will serve as a learning institution for today’s youth – tomorrow’s workers.  Mayor Perez was on hand and also endorsed the project. In the end, reporters were still somewhat skeptical of the announcement and questioned the timing.  Islam insisted to reporters that optimism, vision and leadership are all rooted in this effort. 

The building will have it all as far as green building technology goes. Besides incorporating a solar panel array and fuel cell technology for power generation, the structure will also use a hybrid double duct HVAC system which can gain 70% energy savings and uses 100% outside air for ventilation.   The structure will also be one of the first buildings in the city to incorporate green roof technology.

In a recent post, I stated that it’s become very hard to get your green message in mainstream news outlets, especially if you’re promoting a green building.  The major media outlets have basically taken the attitude of been there, done that.  I am not sure whether it was the fact that there was good news for a change and the media was freaked out or the efforts of AI’s PR firm but there were tons of media at this conference. And rightly so. This is a big project that will bring excitement and value to the downtown community.  Green cheers to Abul and his team for taking some risk, investing in the community, creating jobs and being leaders in a blue economy.

Find out more about the project (pdf) and to checkout some of the renderings of the building.

Filed under: Energy, Green Buildings, Green Education, Green Jobs, Green Technology