Sustainability is a journey, not a destination. Spectrum Properties | Emery has taken this message to heart, leading the charge for ongoing sustainable retrofits and operations in the Southeast. Though the North Carolina-based real estate company has been implementing best practices and pursuing LEED® certification on new construction projects for several years, the sustainability journey for 1.4 million square feet of their existing holdings in Franklin, Tennessee began in 2007 with a roofing retrofit. When the Carothers Building needed a new roof, the property management team chose to install a white roof, looking to lower cooling costs by reducing solar heat gain during the southern summer months.

As the staggering energy-use reduction from this simple retrofit became apparent, the property management team continued seeking other opportunities for improvement. In 2009, the team began looking at the LEED for Existing Buildings rating system and a consulting contract was opened to investigate the likelihood of certification for each of the seven buildings. Following the results of a favorable feasibility study, the LEED process began in earnest in November 2009.

 Located in the Cool Springs area, just south of Nashville, these seven Class A office buildings house numerous tenants from several industries, including finance, insurance, and medical, many of them Fortune 500 companies. The Carothers Building boasts just over 500,000 square feet of rentable office space and features a full service café and gym. The Corporate Centre campus offers over 850,000 square feet of rentable office space.

 

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