Page 32 —
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— June 1-June 14, 2016
Construction, Design & Engineering
EDITOR’S NOTE: In the first
part of this article, we looked at
the challenges of below-grade con-
struction, what to look for when
your property is surrounded by
existing structures and how prop-
er planning, paired with the right
team, can save you time, money
and headaches. In this installment,
we’ll look at challenges with site
utilities, the ever-evolving energy-
efficiency code requirements and
the benefits of taking your build-
ing green.
“It’s what you learn after you
know it all that matters.”– John
Wooden
A
s cranes and scaf-
folding have become
regular features of
our cityscapes, it’s obvious that
urban infill development In
Colorado is hot right now. And
while developers who tackle
these projects clearly under-
stand the market, their bottom
line could take a hit if they run
into unexpected challenges.
And those new green building
guidelines? Smart developers
who embrace them are being
rewarded for their investment.
Don’t Short-Circuit
Transformer Placement
In an urban infill project,
where to place the utilities –
electrical transformer, gas ser-
vice, meter banks and water
entry – can be a challenge.
The associated below-grade
connections can also add cost
and construction complexity
if basements or underground
parking structures are present.
“In
an
urban infill
p r o j e c t ,
there’s just
no room to
place a trans-
former,” said
Jeff Mullikin,
principal at
AE Design,
a
Denver-
based inte-
grated light-
ing and elec-
trical solu-
tions firm.
“If you have
careful coordination with the
utility provider, installation
details can be minimized by not
placing the transformer over
occupied space. For example,
in the Wencel Building project
we worked on recently in Boul-
der, we notched the corner of
the basement so that the trans-
former would remain outside
of the building footprint. That
made a huge difference.”
Aging infrastructure systems
in the adjacent building can
also cause developers serious
headaches, hard costs and proj-
ect delays. According to Mul-
likin, when you’re working on
a project with aging infrastruc-
ture, be prepared for utility
system upgrades beyond the
boundaries of the project to
support the increased demand
of the new building.
“What you should do early
in the due diligence phase is
confirm that existing utility
services aren’t undersized for
the proposed expansion,” said
Mullikin. “Or else the modi-
fied use may require expensive
upgrades to the primary distri-
bution systems.”
Have a new connection in an
already congested alley ease-
ment or right of way? Mullikin
noted that communication and
planning could save you there,
as well. He explained that
early, detailed discussions with
utility providers and the city
are a great way to coordinate
those connections and avoid
any mishaps down the road.
Let The Water Drain,
Not Your Budget
Other developer pain points
would be the coordination of
utility service lines with street
trees, shoring and foundation
systems, as well as the chal-
lenges of planning storm water
outfall away from adjacent
structures. This can be particu-
larly challenging on urban sites
where buildings are directly
adjacent to new construction
and space is at a premium.
“Identifying drainage issues
and adjacent downspout loca-
tions in existing buildings can
help avoid issues during and
after construction,” said Aldo
Sebben, design director and
principal at Studio Architec-
ture. “Planning outdoor space
for building infrastructure, like
the electrical and gas meters,
backup generators and electri-
cal transformers, can be chal-
lenging with even the most
accommodating sites. Failure
to do so will just complicate the
design and cost you later.”
Sebben noted that on a recent
project, he identified a sig-
nificant existing storm drain-
age problem with an adjacent
building, designed a solution
to correct the problem and was
able to get the building owner
to address the improvements
during construction, thereby
avoiding future drainage issues
and potential water damage to
both buildings.
For More Green, Be Smart
About Energy Efficiency
Those ever-changing energy-
efficiency design requirements
for buildings can significantly
increase the cost and complex-
ity of infill buildings. Although
not isolated to these types of
projects, the added cost of
infill construction makes new
energy code requirements an
important consideration.
Computer-based
energy
modeling completed during
the building design phase usu-
ally reveals that traditionally
efficient building envelopes,
along with mechanical and
electrical systems, are no lon-
ger sufficient to comply with
more restrictive energy perfor-
mance standards.
“In some municipalities,
such as the city of Boulder,
on-site photovoltaic power
generation is required to meet
more demanding energy code
requirements,” said Mullikin.
“Light fixtures must include
LED lamps in order to meet
reduced lighting power den-
sity requirements and all light-
ing will likely need automatic
controls, such as occupancy
sensors or a time-based light-
ing control systems.”
“One of our recent buildings
that’s on track for LEED Gold
certification was designed with
a comprehensive lighting con-
trol system,” said Sebben. “This
system automatically controls
the lights by programmed
time function and allows the
application of advanced con-
trol requirements that could be
installed during the tenant fin-
ish phase.”
More advanced energy codes
also require the application of
controlled power receptacles.
This means that a certain per-
centage of power receptacles
need to be controlled by either
occupancy sensors or a time-
based function. The reasoning
behind controlled receptacles
is to kill “vampire” loads that
occur, for example, when a
phone charger is left plugged
in at the office overnight. This
can cause the charger to draw
a little bit of electricity all night
long, which adds up over time.
At the building core/shell
level, controlled receptacles are
not necessarily required, but
they may be required when
the tenant finish is being com-
pleted.
Build it Green and
They Will Come
Because of the added costs
Jeff Dawson
Founder and
managing partner,
Studio Architecture,
Boulder
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