The Pinellas County office of Brown & Brown Insurance has moved into
a LEED-certified
building at 83 Park Place in Clearwater. The insurance company was
previously located at 17757 US Highway 19 N.
"We liked
the fact that it was a green building and it provides convenient
commuting for our employees between Clearwater and Tampa," says Dana
Ludwig, vice president of the Pinellas location.
The
Class A, LEED-Gold-registered commercial space is designed to collect
rainwater from its drainage system, which can then be used to irrigate
the building's landscaping. In addition, the building's solar-banned
windows are triple paned and wind rated for 130 mile-per-hour winds.
"In our business we keep a lot of records," Ludwig explains.
"This
building is much safer in an area prone to hurricanes and high-storm
winds. When our team went through the selection process, we believed if
we could get a green building it would make a positive statement about
our company."
LEED is the nationally accepted benchmark
that measures
sustainability in design, construction and operation as well as water
efficiency, materials, resources and indoor quality. The building's
official certification is pending completion of additional construction.
Brown
& Brown Insurance is ranked by
Business Insurance
magazine as the sixth-largest independent insurance intermediaries in
the world, with locations throughout the United States and England. The
70-year-old company enjoys favorable rankings from Standard &
Poor's, as well as from
Forbes and
Fortune magazines.
"We're encouraged by the demand for green office space,"
says Paul Engelhardt, vice president of
Hallmark Development, the
company leasing the building. "Having well-respected companies like
Brown & Brown embrace the principles of green building is further
proof that the earth-friendly building is here to stay."
Writer: Missy Kavanaugh
Source: Dana Ludwig, Brown & Brown Insurance
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