Engineering : Development News

St. Petersburg's first self-sustaining, net zero building celebrated its grand opening on Monday, December 3rd.

As Florida's first designated green city, St. Petersburg is the new home of the Sierra Club's state headquarters and Big Sea Design and Development and Roundhouse Creative offices.

Built by All Florida Management with partners Bosch and Florida garden center Twig Leaves, St. Pete's first self-sustaining, net zero building is a U.S. Green Building Council LEED Platinum applicant, fully equipped with environmentally friendly solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, a water-to-air geothermal heat exchange system, glare-reducing thermal barrier window tinting, green spaces with native landscaping, rainwater harvesting and a weekly recycling program.

In other words: zero energy bill.

“These days, green businesses aren't just focused on developing earth-friendly technologies -- they are committed to offering a product or service that consumers know has little to no environmental impact,” says Tom Hall, the building's developer and managing partner of All Florida Management. “The emergence of this new green business culture has allowed our company to focus on meeting the needs of the small business community by dedicating ourselves to cultivating environmentally conscious commercial building platforms that reflect both our clients' personal and professional values.”

Roundhouse Creative is one of those small businesses looking to take advantage of everything the new eco-friendly building has to offer; Andrew Lee and his wife, Brooke, founded their production studio in 2007, focused on telling powerful stories and creating beautiful designs. Roundhouse Creative moved into a 2,600-square-foot space in the new building that is shared with Big Sea Design and Development.

“We made the decision years ago in our personal lives to be conscious of the environment and are excited about what being net zero will mean to our customers,” says Lee. “By hiring Roundhouse Creative, our customers can now benefit from the fact that their new website, TV commercial or web video has been produced with a near net zero environmental impact.”

With Roundhouse Creative's new space currently open for business, Lee looks forward to thriving in downtown St. Pete: What he calls a regional hub for art, culture and great food.

“Innovative, forward-thinking projects like this building are a perfect fit for the city and add to why I love St. Pete. I couldn't be more excited about what this project means for the area,” he says. “I hope other business owners become educated on the benefits of net zero and understand that they can now make conscious decisions for their business with the environment and future generations in mind.”

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Tom Hall, All Florida Management & Andrew Lee, Roundhouse Creative

The U.S. 19 corridor in Clearwater is about to become more attractive, successful and sustainable.

Preliminary plans are in the works to improve the Clearwater stretch of U.S. 19 because conditions along the main north-south road have changed dramatically over the past several years.

According to Cate Lee, planner at the City's Planning and Development Department, recent construction has begun hurting some businesses dependent on impulse customers relying on direct access from U.S. 19. The City's new plans will allow and incentivize investment in properties located along the corridor that may be prohibited or discouraged now under current plans or codes.

“The City of Clearwater is undertaking this planning process to set the framework for development post-Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) roadway improvements,” Lee says. “The plan that will be the end result of the current study will guide growth along the corridor for the next few decades.”

Offering recommendations on a wide range of topics from land use to urban design and mobility to sustainability, the final report will promote more sustainable forms and patterns of development by improving vehicle, pedestrian and bike connections throughout Clearwater.

Currently, the study area includes the segments of the U.S. 19 corridor from Belleair Road north to Curlew Road while considering the future of Gulf to Bay Boulevard, Drew Street and North McMullen Booth Road.

“This planning effort takes a long range view of the corridor: What is the future? What types of land use and development do people who, work, play and shop along the corridor want to see?,” Lee says. “The roadway improvements allow for greater regional connectivity to Tampa and south Pinellas and north Pasco counties.”

Lee stresses the importance of taking advantage of the corridor plans and improvements to create more jobs and quality places for residents to live, work and play. The City expects final planning and approval of the plan by the end of Summer 2012 with the final adoption by City Council by Fall 2012.

Want to have a say in the changes made along the corridor? The City is encouraging feedback from those who regularly use the Clearwater portion of U.S. 19 to help identify problems, offer ideas and suggest possible solutions via an online discussion board.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Cate Lee, City of Clearwater

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is planning a new project for 4.2 miles of Interstate 275 between Floribraska Avenue and Yukon Street.

According to FDOT Public Information Officer John McShaffrey, the $30 million project will widen both inside and outside shoulder areas along north- and southbound I-275, south of Floribraska Avenue to north of Yukon Street. The project aims to create a more consistent shoulder width.

“It's a safety project,” McShaffrey says. “As you drive through that area now, there are shoulders of varying widths -- some aren't even wide enough to pull over if you break down or have a minor accident.”

Partial demolition and widening by Prince Contracting will occur on a total of 26 bridges, widening each to connect in the center. There will also be widening of non-bridge shoulder portions of the highway while existing grass and guardrail in current medians will be replaced by a concrete barrier to match median connections on the north and south ends outside of the project limits.

“Ultimately, the shoulders will be about 10 feet wide, enabling people to pull off in case of an emergency,” McShaffrey says. “A lot of times when you break down and there's no shoulder area, it takes up a lane. This project, once complete, will allow traffic to keep flowing when you have those kinds of instances.”

Expected to begin in June 2012, the project will also include some drainage, sign and signal work. Existing overhead message signs will be replaced by signs with color displays.

Completion of the project is slated for Summer 2014 with periodic north- and southbound lane closures between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. The current 55 mph speed limit will remain during construction.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: John McShaffrey, FDOT

After 105 days of construction work on downtown Tampa's Platt Street Bridge, the 85-year-old bridge is once again open to the public.

Officially opened to traffic in the early hours of January 17th, Tampa drivers should still expect occasional individual road closures and lane shifts similar to those performed before the bridge closed in October 2011. Work on the $13.8 million project began January 2011 and will continue until fully completed in the Spring of 2012.

Remaining work on the 518-foot bridge includes painting, restoring the tender house, installing vintage street lighting and updating various electrical components. Once completed, the bridge will look almost exactly like the $400,000 original,  including functionality and 1926 historical appearance.

Funded by Community Investment Tax proceeds and federal grants, project contractors were given an incentive to finish on-time: If construction during the closure was finished before January 16th, Hillsborough County would pay contractors $10,000 per day. On the other hand, for everyday that the completion date was delayed, the contractor would be penalized $10,000.

“It's such a critical artery,” says Steve Valdez, spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Public Works Department. “We wanted to make darn sure we lessened the amount of adverse impact as much as we possibly could.”

Work on the Platt Street Bridge is being done partly to see completion before the Republican National Convention in the Tampa Bay area in August 2012.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Steve Valdez, Hillsborough County Public Works Department

New College of Florida in Sarasota has gone green.

Opening a new $11 million Academic Center just in time for 50 classes for the Fall semester, the college was recently awarded with gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for the extensive number of environmentally friendly features the building offers.

New features include special CO2 room sensors that measure air quality and adjust the air-conditioning system accordingly, specially designed built-in tanks to collect storm water, toilets that flush using residual rainwater from the roof and air-conditioning condensate, pavers and reflective roofing materials and high-efficiency windows to promote natural lighting.

“Environmentally, the New College Academic Center uses fewer of our regions natural resources,” says Lynn Riechmann, spokesperson for the college. “The architectural features that garnered the building golf LEED certification certainly help minimize our carbon footprint as we continue to provide better facilities for students.”

Part of the New College Campus Master Plan that was approved in June 2008, the 3,500-square-foot Academic Center encompasses all that the plan envisioned: environmentally progressive campus development over the next 30 years, promoting a more seamless relationship between academic and residential life.

“The new center really enhances the educational experience for students,” says Riechmann. “About 20 percent of our alumni live and work in the Tampa Bay area, entering the regional workforce as doctors, lawyers, educators, leaders and other professionals.”

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Lynn Riechmann, New College of Florida

The City of Tampa recently held a community meeting to discuss the Drew Park Streetscape and Beautification Master Plan project.

The third and final meeting for the project included a presentation of the final draft of conceptual designs for the community plan, providing local residents and property and business owners with a guide for future aesthetic and streetscape public improvements throughout the Drew Park neighborhood.

“The plan outlines design objectives, principles and criteria for specific streetscape sections, as well as guidelines for future projects,” says Jeanette LaRussa Fenton, manager of the Drew Park and West Tampa Community Redevelopment Area (CRA). “The plan consists of both descriptive narrative and detailed graphics that capture the intended look of major corridors and other business and residential road segments.”

With funds mainly coming from the Drew Park CRA Tax Increment Financing (TIF), substantial investments will be made to the Drew Park area over the next five years. Among the plans to greatly improve community infrastructure, a major storm water improvement project, which is included in the Master Plan, will significantly reduce flooding while improving roadways and streetscapes for both residents and business in the area.

“Developed with the input of the Drew Park CRA Community Advisory Committee and other community stakeholders, the Plan provides for comprehensive, coordinated improvements that will vastly improve the appearance of Drew Park and its attractiveness for investment,” says Fenton.

Work on basic improvements is slated to begin by the end of 2011.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Jeanette LaRussa Fenton, City of Tampa

As part of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011, Team Florida has spent nearly two years working on its entry: the FleX House.

Based on a design by a partnership between the University of South Florida (USF), Florida State University (FSU), the University of Florida (UF) and the University of Central Florida (UCF), the FleX House is jam-packed with the latest cutting-edge, energy-efficient technology complete with moving parts that can easily adapt to different site situations and plan configurations; a $20,000 photovoltaic (PV) array was even recently installed onto the roof of the 1,000-square-foot building.

“Systems such as the solar array are opportunities to show society that we can make the right steps toward sustainability,” says Justin Vandenbroeck, a FSU engineering major who acted as an engineer on the project. “We aren't relying on fossil fuels to produce our energy -- instead we're harnessing the power of the sun that's been shining on us as long as we've existed. It's a common misunderstanding that solar energy is a futuristic idea that isn't practical, but it's actually very feasible.”

More than 50 students and faculty have worked on the $200,000 FleX House project behind the Beck Group's headquarters in downtown Tampa, at 220 W. 7th Ave. Donations and in-kind services from businesses throughout Florida such as Solar Ray, Prosolar Systems and SolarWorld USA -- a company where Vandenbroeck interned -- provided funds for the Solar Decathlon entry.

“Our objective was to design and build a solar-powered house that is not only energy efficient but cost effective as well,” says Vandenbroeck. “This event is an opportunity for students of all majors to express their visions on a large scale and really show the change they want to see.”

In order to participate in the Solar Decathlon on September 14 in Washington, D.C., the FleX house must be dismantled for transportation and reassembled before the competition where it will be judged against a variety of 18 houses for the title of the most energy efficient in the world.

“By investing in solar energy, you’re not only investing in energy independence in our country, but you are investing in a green economy and creating jobs right here at home,” says Vandenbroeck. “The sun isn’t going to stop shining anytime soon, so let’s take advantage of it.”

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Justin Vandenbroeck, Florida State University

Tampa's Lee Roy Selmon Expressway is about to get wider, giving commuters a more streamlined trip to and from downtown Tampa from points south and east in Hillsborough County.

According to Kris Carson of the Florida Department of Transportation, construction is slated to begin in November 2011. The project will add a lane in both directions of the Selmon Expressway from just west of Morgan Street to just west of 21st Street, relieving congestion due to frequent repairs.

"This heavily traveled section requires continual maintenance that often results in lane closures and traffic disruption," says Carson. "It has  ceased to meet the needs of area traffic. This project will relieve the cost and inconvenience of maintenance and at the same time expand the bridge to six lanes, easing congestion."

Carson estimates the project's cost at approximately $110 million, and notes that it will tie in with proposed work on the Crosstown Connector that will join the expressway with Interstate 4. The toll expressway spans a continuous bridge structure that looms above southeast Tampa from Gandy Boulevard to Brandon neighborhoods. Carson says the project will require removing and replacing decks on both bridges that carry commuters in each direction.

"The existing bridge piers will remain,'' she says. "New piers will be added to support the new widening.''

Carson says the bidding process will begin in June 2011, and the project's completion date is yet to be determined. "The maximum allowable contract time is 760 calendar days, but the design-build teams may include a shorter schedule with their bids."

Writer: Missy Kavanaugh
Source: Kris Carson, Florida Department of Transportation

Cracks in a reservoir that provides water to three counties in the Tampa Bay region may be on the verge of getting fixed.

Tampa Bay Water supplies water to residents living in Tampa in Hillsborough County, New Port Richey in Pasco County and St. Petersburg in Pinellas County. Cracks have appeared in the reservoir since shortly after it opened.

"Beginning in December 2006, cracks began to form in the reservoir's erosion-control layer," says Tampa Bay Water spokesperson Michelle Biddle Rapp. "Analyses show that the cracking is caused by the buildup of water pressure in the soil wedge beneath the soil-cement as the reservoir water level is drawn down during typical use. This problem was caused by improper design.''

Rapp says the challenge in fixing the cracks lies in protecting the water supply and its cycles. "The region's water supply is built to rely on the storage from a working 15.5 billion gallon reservoir," she explains. "The cracks appear in nearly 40 percent of its interior liner, so the entire liner needs to be replaced. The reservoir is currently in use, but the cracking requires a long-term fix to ensure that the regional reservoir can continue to be used without interrupting the fill and drain cycles and supply water to the $200 million expanded surface water treatment plant and pump station."

According to Rapp, Tampa Bay Water is in the process of  finding a permanent solution.

"Three teams have submitted proposals for a fix that are currently being evaluated by a team of experts,'' Rapp says. Tampa Bay Water's board of directors is scheduled to hear presentations from each of the teams at its meeting on May 16, 2011, and select the fix on June 20, 2011. Construction is scheduled to start in 2012 and last two years.

Writer: Missy Kavanaugh
Source: Michelle Biddle Rapp, Tampa Bay Water

Green experts and those curious about sustainability met in St. Petersburg in early April to discuss how to make homes and businesses more sustainable.

Part of that discussion revolved around how the greening of America would help jumpstart the economy and create jobs -- particularly here in the Tampa Bay region.

The Tampa Bay Living Green Expo took place at the St. Petersburg Coliseum on April 2 and 3, 2011, and featured booths, experts, demonstrations and panel discussions that ranged from Conquering Your Sprinkler Challenges to the ABCs of Composting. One of the panels focused on Green Jobs, and featured panelist John Wakefiield, senior VP of EcoAsset Solutions in Tampa.

Wakefield says the outlook for green jobs looks good, particularly in the public sector.

"I think looking into the next five years, the opportunities are ripe," says Wakefield. "What we think needs to happen is for communities in the Tampa Bay area to implement a Pace (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program. If the program was implemented in Tampa, it would provide financing for retrofit appliances. The jobs they would create would help the hardest hit sector: construction and trades."

"I would say that sustainability has emerged as the strongest driver of growth," continues Wakefield. "There are a few things driving that trend: First, rising regulatory and customer pressure for it in the marketplace. Second, companies are in need of the grants out there that reward sustainable efforts, and third, companies are seeing sustainability as a competitive and financial driver -- anything to grow revenue, especially where the economy is right now."

Writer: Missy Kavanaugh
Source: John Wakefield, EcoAsset Solutions

The University of South Florida (USF) Sarasota-Manatee campus is going from air to water to keep things cool -- and green.

The campus' new central energy chiller plant, which went into operation on March 17, replaces its air-cooled system with a water-cooled one that stores ice at night. The ice is used to cool the cooling system the following morning.

Richard Lyttle, director of facilities planning and management for the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus, says the new system should save energy and costs.

"This system's more efficient," he says. "And because it makes ice during the night hours, the rates are cheaper. Our night rates will go down now that we're not using all that expensive equipment."

Lyttle says the new chiller system is the first of its kind in the USF campus network, and part of a bigger plan to make and keep the university sustainable.

"We are preparing an application to get the entire campus LEED certified for operations," he says. "We're fairly energy efficient now, but it's motivating us to do more. We've engaged a consulting team to help us determine what we still need to get done. We think we have enough for silver but are going for gold. Within the next six months, we'll know which one we'll be going for."

According to Lyttle, other efforts to make the campus more environmentally responsible include changing its energy consumption habits by using only high-efficiency fluorescent and LED lighting, occupant sensors for both lighting and air-conditioning in building classrooms and reducing operations of major equipment at night and on weekends.

"We've accomplished several cost-saving measures, but the air conditioning system was the big one to get past," says Lyttle.

Source: Richard Lyttle, USF Sarasota-Manatee
Writer: Missy Kavanaugh

For a number of years now, metal structures have been separating underneath the St. Petersburg Pier that stretches into Tampa Bay. And, for a number of years now, this structural issue has prompted debate among groups invested in the future of this publicly owned icon.

According to one city official, the first step will be addressing the stretch of road one must travel to get to the pier, a road that currently consists of sidewalk, two-way traffic lanes and a median.

"The important thing is to separate the icon from the roadway leading up to it," says Chris Ballestra, director of St. Petersburg's Downtown Enterprise Facilities. "We really need to look at the approach to the pier and activate that first. Then we can begin to look at the icon itself. Once we know what we're doing with the approach, we can then hopefully figure out what to do with what's at the end of it."

Ballestra says there are myriad alternatives for the stretch of road that leads to the pier, ones that may include anything from a marketplace to a simple activity like a jogging path or a dog park. "It doesn't have to be retail," says Ballestra. "But that approach needs to engage people. We need to be creative and give people a reason to go out to the pier."

According to Ballestra, Bernello & Ajanill, an architectural design firm in Miami, has been engaged to present ideas at an upcoming city council meeting, and then at a public meeting in February 2011 for input from residents and businesses.

St. Petersburg's city council recommended in 2010 that the pier be torn down and completely rebuilt amid push-back from a number of people in the community. A task force was assigned in 2008 to address the pier's decline.

In the meantime, visitors to the pier can enjoy its many amenities, including a new gallery, the Croatian Naive Art Gallery, that features reverse glass paintings.

By: Missy Kavanaugh
Source: Chris Ballera, City of St. Petersburg

Two high-profile projects are being celebrated on both sides of Tampa Bay on Jan. 11, 2011.

Groundbreaking takes place on the University of South Florida's (USF) Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS) in Tampa, and the new and improved Dali Museum opens in St. Petersburg.

The Beck Group, a national firm that handles development, planning, architecture and construction projects throughout the United States, is both architect and general contractor for the CAMLS. The 90,000-square-foot building planned for downtown Tampa will house the first-of-its-kind facility in the nation for medical training in simulated environments.

The facility includes surgical training suites, one of which contains a da Vinci robot. A virtual hospital, research and innovation lab, offices and a fully equipped interactive auditorium are also part of the project. The facility is expected to open in December 2011.

Beck also built the 66,400-square-foot Dalí Museum on St. Petersburg's waterfront. The new building's exterior construction features a geodesic glass design as well as 18-inch-thick concrete walls and slab roof that are expected to withstand hurricane-force winds and flood waters. The museum's interior centerpiece is a three-story, 56-foot high spiral staircase inside a Daliesque space shaped like an egg.

The new Dali and the CAMLS are expected to draw visitors from around the world and help spur additional economic development for the Tampa Bay region.

"Both of these buildings are iconic projects for the Tampa Bay area," says Ben Bard, a Beck Group project manager. "Both offer a global draw in terms of visitors -- healthcare professionals and art lovers. It's awesome to be part of it."

Writer: Missy Kavanaugh
Source: Mark House, The Beck Group

Four streets in downtown Tampa that once ran one way now run in two directions, thanks to a long-term initiative to encourage urban living.

After a transformation that took several years of planning and execution, Twiggs, Cass, Zack and Polk, all east-west thoroughfares through downtown Tampa, are now two-way streets.

Tampa's Transportation Manager Jean Dorzback says the project, which was done one street at a time, was a multilayered task. "The traffic signals had to be redone, poles ordered, zoning and signage, parking meters. There's more to it than you would think."

According to Dorzback, the impetus for the transformation was ultimately to encourage urban living.

"One of the goals is to transform downtown to residential," she says. "Mayor Iorio's administration asked that we convert one-way streets to two-way to encourage residential living and make urban living more appealing. One of the initiatives of this was to convert one way to two way to make it easier for people to negotiate."

Dorzback says that while east-west streets such as Kennedy Boulevard and Nebraska Avenue are still one-way,  the four streets chosen to go two-way were selected because they had the least impact on overall traffic patterns. "We had to be very careful to balance," she says. "We picked the streets that didn't have issues with capacity. These streets didn't have any impact on commuting from the interstates."

Dorzback explains that final resurfacing and permanent markings are to take place as soon as work on the city pipeline system is completed. "Once we're finished with the UCAP pipeline renovations, we'll be able to resurface and put down permanent markings."

Writer: Missy Kavanaugh
Source: Jean Dorzback, City of Tampa

Tampa's 22nd Street North corridor now has sidewalks, curbs and gutters running along both sides of the street. Its newly meandered design and speed tables slow the traffic that once raced through the neighborhood. Streetlights and security cameras protect drivers and pedestrians from danger.

"We're the most densely populated area in Hillsborough County; and one of the most densely populated areas in the state," says Julian Garcia, Jr., executive director of the University Community Redevelopment Corporation. "What we've done with redevelopment of this corridor is part of an overall plan to rejuvenate the whole area."

According to Garcia, 158 small- to medium-sized businesses started in the city's university section last year, which created 189 jobs. The  Prodigy Cultural Arts program promotes literacy, personal enrichment and the arts to members of the community, who also enjoy accessible and affordable health care through the University Area Healthcare Center.

Garcia says pre-planning studies were critical to redevelopment success. "We've taken a holistic approach to what we gathered through a housing condition survey and an assessment of attitudes about crime in the community," he says.

Garcia says the studies were done with support of the Jim Walter Partnership Center at the University of South Florida and Shimberg Center for Housing Studies at the University of Florida.

Garcia and his team have since developed a manual of best practices for community redevelopment and have conducted five symposiums throughout Florida to share what they've accomplished and to show what is possible for other areas in need of rejuvenation.

Writer: Missy Kavanaugh
Source: Julian Garcia, University Community Redevelopment Corp.