Blueprint has shades of green
Technology park building seeks certification as environmentally friendly

By LARRY RULISON, Business writer

MALTA -- The building that United Group of Cos. is erecting here at Saratoga Technology & Energy Park is going to be "green."

Green as in good for the environment. The building will be so green, in fact, that the best parking spaces will be reserved for low-emission cars, and showers will be built for people who bike to work. Furniture will be made from recycled industrial equipment, and plenty of windows will provide natural light, reducing the need for electricity. The 105,000-square-foot complex at STEP, which is owned by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, will cost $18 million. NYSERDA, a state agency that promotes clean-energy sources and energy-efficiency programs, bills STEP as the first-ever business park dedicated solely to renewable and clean-energy technology businesses. Tenants will include Starfire Systems Inc., an advanced-materials manufacturer that is located in an existing building at STEP, as well as other technology companies like Lockheed Martin and the solar power company GroSolar. NYSERDA President Paul Tonko said the STEP 1 building, as it is being called, will go a long way toward reaching Gov. Eliot Spitzer's goal of reducing electricity consumption in the state by 15 percent by 2015. "We as a state have an opportunity to lead the nation," Tonko said. "We're leading by example." The building's design is so special that it is seeking certification by the United States Green Building Council under its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, program. LEED certification entails meeting an extensive and rigorous set of standards. Einhorn, Yaffee Prescott Architecture & Engineering P.C. in Albany is the architect on the project. The firm specializes in LEED-certified buildings and has worked on projects around the world. Attaining LEED certification, which was created in 2002, is such a tough process that only 29 LEED-certified buildings exist in New York state, said Russell Unger, executive director of the New York chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. The state Department of Environmental Conservation building on Broadway in Albany is among the 29. "Using LEED is a guide for building green," Unger said. "It's the definitive green building standard in the country." Unger said there are nine LEED-certified buildings in New York City, where he works, with about 200 in the pipeline seeking the designation. He estimates hundreds more may be seeking certification across the state. "There's going to be a dramatic increase in the number of LEED-certified buildings," Unger said. Corey Aldrich, director of market development for North Greenbush-based United Group, said his company took on the challenge of building a green building because it likes to do projects that others believe can't be done. "It's a mentality we have in our company," Aldrich said. "We say that there's got to be a way to do it. It's not always easier to do it this way. You just have to get creative and do it." David Osher, executive project manager at United Group, said the building should be completed by October. It is expected to be fully occupied, since 70 percent of the space is already leased.

Rulison can be reached at 518-454-5504 or by e-mail at lrulison@timesunion.com.