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Denver, Colorado

Region 8 Office

Total Facility Area: 248,849 rentable square feet (EPA share)
Estimated Personnel: 850 EPA personnel
Energy Consumption: 16,443,772,160 Btu per year

Estimated Btu per Gross Square Foot per Year: 66,079
Estimated Water Consumption: 6,214,000 gallons per year

Annual energy and water data are estimated based on available FY 2007 data.

Description

A grand opening ceremony was held March 6, 2007, to celebrate the opening of the Denver Regional Office. On hand to celebrate the opening were EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, General Services Administration Administrator Lurita Doan, and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.

EPA's Region 8 covers the mountain states of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. In January 2007, the Region 8 Office relocated to a new facility leased by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) for EPA. EPA occupies the nine-story building through a 10-year lease with GSA. In September 2007, the facility received the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED^®) Gold-level certification. The facility, a product of more than three years of planning, design, and construction, serves as a hallmark of environmental sustainability in a prominent Lower Downtown Historic District location.

Awards

• In November 2007, DOE presented the Denver Region 8 Office with a Federal Energy Saver Showcase Award, which honors facilities that use cost-effective energy efficiency, water conservation, and renewable energy technologies.
• The developer and owner of EPA's Region 8 Office, Opus Northwest LLC, was honored with a 2006 Downtown Denver Award for the facility for "helping to usher in a new era of sustainable development in Downtown Denver while respecting the distinct character of Lower Downtown." For more information, visit the Downtown Denver Partnership Web site.

Structuring the Acquisition to Maximize Results

EPA and GSA worked together to develop a two-step design competition for EPA's new Region 8 Office so that the building represents the best in design, work environment, environmental performance, and security while providing a good value for the taxpayers.

Step 1: The first phase of the competition, completed in Spring 2004, consisted of evaluating numerous development teams, which include a real estate development firm, architecture/engineering firm, general contractor, commissioning agent, property management firm, and other specialty consultants. The teams were evaluated on their past performance, design and sustainable building experience, security expertise, financing capability, and other factors. The field was narrowed to five teams chosen to move on to the design phase of the competition.

Step 2: During the second phase of the competition, completed in Summer 2004, the five teams developed, refined, and presented schematic designs. Teams provided building renderings, site plans, floor plans, mechanical system descriptions, energy use estimates, water conservation strategies, construction materials, construction period waste recycling plans, commissioning plans, indoor air quality measures, and other information on the sustainable attributes of the building. In addition, the teams were required to demonstrate how they would meet new Department of Homeland Security requirements. In August 2004 the Opus team—consisting of OPUS Northwest, LLC, developer and owner; Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP, architects; Syska Hennessy, mechanical/electrical engineers; and Hinman Consulting, security—was awarded the contract.

Environmental Features

You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.

To learn more about the energy-efficient design features incorporated in the Region 8 Office, view the following documents:

• Setting a Standard for Sustainable Design (PDF) (2 pp, 1.8MB), created by EPA and GSA.
• EPA Region 8 Headquarters USGBC Greenbuild Conference Brochure (PDF) (4 pp, 2.9MB), created by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects.

Energy Conservation

• EPA is requiring that the building be energy-efficient and obtain an ENERGY STAR^® label.
• Construction drawings were “Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR,” which helped establish a building rating target for the facility.
• The under-floor air delivery system saves energy since the air is delivered from below the occupant and therefore does not require as much cooling as air from overhead ducts.
• The Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system is set to work at lowest possible cooling loads in warm weather from high discharge air temperature (63° F). This allows for the use of warmer chilled water on all but the most humid days, which extends the use of chilled water from the cooling towers.
• Daylight dimming controls on areas of building perimeter reduce the amount of light needed when there is enough natural sunlight.
• Building design provides for natural light in 85 percent of floor space. Reflective surfaces, task lighting, daylighting dimmers and occupancy sensors reduce energy use as the lights are only on when the room is occupied and automatically turn off in empty rooms.
• Air side economizers and a heat recovery system reduces emissions and improve energy performance.
• All mechanical and electrical systems were commissioned systematically for quality assurance
• Interim energy modeling shows:
  • With plug loads (task lights, computers, copiers, etc.), 11,800 Btu per square foot per year will be saved, which is 20.3 percent better than ASHRAE 90.1-1999 base case per standard of 58,300 kBtu per square foot per year.

Incremental Energy Savings Pie Chart

Green Power

• In October 2004, EPA entered into a three-year contract with Aquila, Inc. to purchase 4.7 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of green power annually for EPA's existing Region 8 Office in Denver, Colorado. This contract supports the generation of renewable energy in the form of renewable energy certificates (RECs) from wind turbines at Colorado Green Wind Project facilities in Prowers County, Colorado. Procured by the Western Area Power Administration the purchase offsets 100 percent of the annual electricity consumption at EPA's Region 8 office. Green power deliveries under the existing contract began to offset 100 percent of the annual electricity consumption at the new facility in December 2006.
• In November 2006, 10 kilowatts of photovoltaics (PVs) were added to the 9th floor penthouse roof. The array is comprised of 48 panels, which produce 215 watts each. The grid-tied PV system provides power when the emergency generator is running to reduce generator load and fuel consumption.

Green Building

• The building is LEED Gold certified. Through lease documents, EPA and GSA required that the building be certified at the LEED Silver level at a minimum, however the building was able to achieve LEED 2.0 Gold certification. View the Preliminary LEED Scorecard for Denver (PDF) (1 pg, 238K).

Green Roof

• The upper levels of the building feature a three-level, 20,000 square foot green roof.
• The extensive (3-4") planting scheme consists of grasses, perennials, and groundcovers selected in accordance with USDA hardiness zone classification in 2'x2' or 2'x4' modules with 4" soil depth.
• The green roof is expected to minimize heat island effects, absorb carbon dioxide, and contribute to an estimated 26.7 percent reduction in stormwater runoff.
• More information on the green roof can be found on EPA's Region 8 Web site.

Water Conservation

• The building maximizes water conservation through low-flow plumbing fixtures, water-conserving mechanical system design, and low-maintenance landscape design using sustainable and native species.
• All plumbing fixtures have low-flow devices including aerators and auto-closing faucets to reduce the use of cold and hot water and decrease water and energy use.
• Waterless urinals installed in men's restrooms reduce water consumption by 36 percent. Dual flush toilets were also installed in women's restrooms.

Waste Reduction and Recycling

• Throughout the planning, construction, and operation of the new facility, EPA required that the design and development team maximize resource conservation by selecting materials with postconsumer recycled content, recycling construction waste, and designing space for ongoing recycling efforts.
• More than 75 percent of building construction waste was recycled and therefore diverted from landfills.
• An extensive facility recycling program and green housekeeping measures focus on a sustainable, healthy, and productive work environment.

Other Features

• Indoor air quality is controlled through careful placement of exhaust and air intakes and the use of low volatile organic compound interior adhesives, paints, sealants, and caulks, as well as environmentally preferable janitorial and cleaning products.
• Some of the floors are made of bamboo, which is a rapidly renewable fiber and has a lower environmental impact than traditional wood floors.
• The building's location near Denver's Union Station offers access to multiple public transportation options, and extensive bike parking and shower facilities are available in the building.
• Interior shades, exterior vertical fins, and atrium sails control daylight, solar heat gain and glare.

For More Information

Following are summaries of the environmental provisions included in the solicitation for offers (SFOs) for the Region 8 offic building:

• Region 8 Office SFO Environmental Provisions (PDF) (5 pp, 43K)
• Region 8 Office SFO Environmental Provisions II (PDF) (18 pp, 251K)

Contact

Paula Smith (smith.paula@epa.gov)
U.S. EPA Region 8
1595 Wynkoop Street
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: (303) 312-6630 

or

Cathy Berlow (berlow.cathy@epa.gov)
EPA Headquarters
Ronald Reagan Building (3204R)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
Phone: (202) 564-3739

To take a tour of the Denver Region 8 Office, contact:
Patty Provencher (provencher.patricia@epa.gov)
1595 Wynkoop Street
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: (303) 312-6836

Web site: www.epa.gov/region8

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