This past week, I attended the ground breaking ceremonies for Centerpoint Connecticut, soon to be one of the first green office condominium parks in Connecticut.  Located in Middletown and with quick access to Interstate 91, the project is underway and one of the few commercial new construction projects taking place in Connecticut.

Registered with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED® program at the silver level, when complete, the office condo park will consist of seven two-story buildings that will each have solar panel arrays that will produce 20 KW of power annually. The project will employ Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) technology for the heating and cooling system which provides exceptional energy efficiency while accommodating a wide range of occupants within a single building.  The developers will also use smart irrigation sensors and plumbing fixtures that reduce water consumption by 40 percent.  The collective green features of Centerpoint Connecticut will provide over 35 percent savings on energy consumption.

Ideal for small businesses looking for green space, the class A office condominiums are for sale or lease and range in size from 1,300 to 6,000 square feet.

Despite the economy and some of the tragic stories of recently stalled projects, this project has a great team and all key stakeholders came together and created a great development plan. Led by the developers of the site, Lennie Leibenhaut and Michael Tyre, they worked with the Town of Middletown to secure tax abatements, Farmington Bank along with the U.S. Small Business Administration helped with the financing and even the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce and Larry McHugh helped to guide the project from concept to reality.

The list of new construction projects taking place in Connecticut is not very long.  One telling sign – have you seen a lot of cranes in the air?  However, maybe the development of this project is a sign that the landscape is changing and that others will follow Lennie and Michael’s lead and make an investment in the state’s future and a commitment to the environment.

Picture above provided by Centerpoint Connecticut.

Filed under: Green Buildings