Inn is Hidden Green Gem

Buildingctgreen.com staff

One of the key economic drivers for Connecticut’s economy is tourism. The state is positioned well for travelers going into and out of New England especially recently with the foliage change. Others travelers to the Nutmeg State come as a destination spot to enjoy Connecticut’s many leisure activities such as hiking the river ways and golf. The state also is home to two of the most popular casinos in New England and now Waterbury can boast about having a new water park. Yet with the economy in panic mode, consumers will begin to travel less. That’s why the hospitality industry must take measures to remain competitive. One enterprise that is separating itself from the competition is the Saybrook Point Inn in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. They are leading by green example.

According to TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel community, this year’s annual travel trends survey of more than 3,000 U.S. travelers indicates a greater amount of Americans said they will be environmentally conscious in their travel decisions in 2009, and more plan to visit eco-friendly hotels in the coming year. And the Saybrook Point is betting they can capture a large share of these green minded travelers looking for lodging in Connecticut. Besides being an Energy Star rated building, earlier this fall the Inn installed a large roof mounted solar array that has panels on several sections of the roof. Among the other green attributes the Inn incorporates include,

* Guest room recycling and conservation programs.
* Office recycling:
Recycled paper for hotel stationery.
Internal and personal communications are printed on both sides of paper.
Scrap paper is used for internal and personal communications.
* Recycled paper products in all public areas.
* Indoor and outdoor salt water pools reduce chlorine waste and fumes, and benefit swimmers.
* Water waste is disinfected by ultraviolet light, not chlorine.
* Rain sensors reduce unnecessary lawn watering.
* Energy efficient windows and doors property-wide.
* Energy-efficient, chemical-free cooling tower.
* Energy efficient thermostats are used throughout the property.
* Green Seal cleaning concentrates are used.
* Eliminated the use of paper and Styrofoam products in employee and kitchen areas.
* Smoke-free environment.
* Partner with Soil Air Technologies to remove nitrogen from our onsite waste water-disposal system.
* Heat-recovery systems that preheat hot water for domestic and pool use.
* Tier Two standby generator that gives complete power independence from outages, reducing grid demands during power emergencies.
* Partner with CT Audubon to enhance our surrounding area with bird houses -- to attract native birds and maintain our grounds with organic fertilizers.
* Free pump-out for all boaters
* Recycling program for boat batteries and used motor oil
* Spill equipment on site and dock personnel trained in spill containment
* Bottom cleaning in Marina not allowed

The Inn has received many recognitions and awards for its green efforts. In fact, earlier this year it received a Silver Level rating from greenlodge.org . Other recognitions include four-time recipient of the Clean Mariana Award - the first Connecticut hotel to receive the award (in 2003).
Circle Awards from the CT Department of Environmental Protection, for the following:

* Installing water-recycling laundry equipment with ozone, to reduce hot water, water soap, bleach, and propane gas usage.
* Improving effluent quality being discharged into the septic system.
* Installing a 100% recycled process or cooling water system and reducing annual energy or water consumption rates by more than 15%.
* Installing 90 energy-saving programmable thermostats.
* Executing changes that reduced annual energy or water consumption rates by more than * 15%, including the purchase of water-efficient toilets for guestrooms and public areas as well as water-efficient dishwashers.

As far as green hospitality goes, the Saybrook Point Inn is a leader and role model not only here but nationally as well. This establishment will no doubt stand out in the crowded hospitality market in Connecticut. It is one of the hidden green gems of Connecticut.

November, 2008

(Photo above is front entrance where scooters are available to guest and the banner is celebrating the solar panel array.  Photo curtesy of Nick D'Acri, Chief Engineer, Saybrook Point Inn)

Kohl's To Open Green Store

Buildingctgreen.com staff

Last week, Wisconsin based Kohl's Stores announced that its newest store in Connecticut will not only create 150 jobs, it will also be an environmentally friendly store.

One of 47 environmentally friendly stores the company has opened this fall, it is registered with the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program at the Silver level. The store's green attributes include recycled and locally obtained building materials; high-efficiency heating and cooling systems; occupancy sensor lighting for stockrooms, break rooms and offices; water-conserving plumbing fixtures, and a recycling program for cardboard boxes, hangers and packaging.

The 89,000-square-foot store on East Main Street is scheduled to open November 5. The Waterbury location will be the company's 18th store in Connecticut.

Source: Waterbury Republican-American

Green Building Updates

Buildingctgreen.com staff

As goes the economy, as goes the real estate market but recently there’s been some encouraging news regarding green building activities in the state. The state will soon reach a milestone for green buildings. According to the U.S. Green Building Council’s (US GBC) Web site, with one more project, Connecticut will have one hundred registered buildings with various programs of the Council’s LEED® rating system.

Two projects also recently received certification from the U.S. GBC. Both properties happen to be owned by global green leaders. One is Building G on the grounds of United Technologies Division Pratt and Whitney’s East Hartford campus and the other is GE CIOP in Norwalk.

There have been several homes that have also registered for the LEED for Homes program. These include the 39 Catoonah Street in Ridgefield and 911 Candlewood Lake Road South in New Milford.

The one commercial property of note that has recently registered LEED NC 2.2 is the old WFSB offices at 3 Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford. The Broadcast House has been purchased by AI Engineers and the new owner will demolish the now-vacant structure and erect a 100,000-square-foot "tech building." The company will move from Middletown to the new property in 2010 and occupy 30,000 square feet.

Tygris Commercial Finance Group Inc. has signed a 14,687-square-foot lease at 40 Danbury Road in Wilton, CT. The three-story, 161,222-square-foot office building was completed in June and is the first office building in Connecticut to receive LEED Gold pre-certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Louis Dreyfus Corp., the only other tenant in the building, occupies the top floor.

Stamford's $16 million Waste to Energy Project is set to begin in December and will turn sludge and other toxic waste into energy sources. Dried water residual in the form of pellets will be converted into gases that can generate electricity.

According to a recent article in Journal Inquirer, the 114-year-old Marlow’s building on Main Street in Manchester has a new 15.8-kilowatt solar array. The array was installed by Sunlight Solar of Milford.

Essex Meadows, a retirement and lifecare community in Essex, has announced that it will install 616 solar panels that will cover approximately 9,000 square feet of roof space and will generate 128,282 kWh (kilowatt hours) each year.

Green Model Home Opens

Buildingctgreen.com staff

Last month, developer J.R. Beaudry opened the model home for the Tunxis Heights project in Bloomfield. The project, which he expected to be completed in two-and-a-half years, will include 32 single-family homes built to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) green home guidelines. The development is one of the first in the state to use the NAHB guidelines.

Beaudry commented, “It would have cost 20 percent less to develop it without complying with the NAHB construction standards, but the commitment to the environment was worth it.”

The new neighborhood will include craftsman-style buildings with a traditional flair that are one or two stories. The 2,400 square-foot model building, which is two stories, includes several eco-friendly features that Beaudry said will be used in all the homes. These will include a geo-thermal heating system that operates on a closed loop and will save residents 60 percent of their heating and cooling costs.

Beaudry states, “These homes will cost about $130 in monthly energy expenses. Homes I’ve built in the past which used a normal cooling system and roughly 1,800 square feet, incurred $430 in monthly energy costs. Our home buyers will experience some significant savings.”

Other Green features of the building’s interior include interior flooring made from bamboo and supplied by Lumber Liquidators in Southwick, Massachusetts, an interior painted without VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), walls made from cement fiberboard, cabinets that were locally manufactured, dual-flush toilets that can save up to 20,000 gallons of water annually and a closed cell spray foam for insulation in the walls and ceiling. An important exterior element is the rain gutters that divert water into a cistern that is used to water the lawn. The system will use 60 percent less water and chemicals.

“The home building industry has to change how we build,” said Beaudry, whose company built the Heritage Farms complex in East Granby under similar guidelines. “We have to pay attention to our environment.”

The model home will cost $469,000 and the others will cost $490,000. If you are interested in finding out more about these green homes, contact J.R. Beaudry at (860) 653-7715 or by email at info@beaudryhomes.com.

Connecticut Bank Branch Goes For LEED

Buildingctgreen.com staff

A ground-breaking event took place last month for Connecticut’s first bank branch to register with the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED® program. Rockville Bank held the ceremony at the site of its 22nd branch location to be built at 780 North Main St. in Manchester, Conn. The bank is committed to achieving certification in the LEED New Construction (NC) category. Rockville Bank held the ceremony at the site of its 22nd branch location to be built at 780 North Main St. in Manchester, Conn.

“We are pleased to lead the way in construction of ‘Green’ banks and hope that our innovative new branch will be a model for other banks in the state,” explained William J. McGurk, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rockville Bank. “Our new Manchester branch will be totally environmentally friendly with ‘Green’ workspaces and facilities, and ‘Green’ landscaping and outdoor amenities.”

Source: Rockville Bank

September, 2008

CNC Software Shows Its Greenware

Bloomfield, Conn., August 7 - CNC Software, based in Tolland Connecticut and the producer of Mastercam, a state-of-the-art software tool for CAD/CAM manufacturing markets globally, has incorporated green building technologies into its company-owned 40,000 sq. ft. corporate headquarters and training facility.

At a family-owned business conference hosted by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) and the UConn Family Business Program, company officials announced that they have successfully installed and are running a geothermal heat pump, efficient lighting and insulated windows and they just turned-on a huge solar array. The CNC building uses about a quarter of the energy of buildings the same size.

"Actually, our energy costs are less than half a percent of our total overhead," said CNC president, Mark Summers. "We expect to create about between a quarter and a third of our electricity usage," continued Summers.

Sources: CNC Software and WTNH.com