The 100,797-square-foot Class A medical office building in Woodstock achieves distinction as environmentally friendly facility under USGBC’s LEED Core & Shell System
WOODSTOCK, Ga., and INDIANAPOLIS, May 29, 2014 – Duke Realty has turned a real estate project that was a victim of the recession into a sustainable success. The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) announced April 30 that the Northside-Cherokee Towne Lake medical office building (MOB) in Woodstock has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® (LEED) Certification. The four-story, 100,797-square-foot MOB, which opened in June 2013, was developed and is owned by Indianapolis-based Duke Realty.
“LEED certification identifies Duke Realty’s Northside-Cherokee Towne Lake medical office building as a showcase example of sustainable design and demonstrates your leadership in transforming the building industry,” USGBC President, CEO & Founding Chairman S. Richard Fedrizzi said in a letter announcing the certification.
Duke Realty drives Towne Lake turnaround
Hopes were high in 2007 when a local developer began construction of a mixed-use project in the high-profile Towne Lake area of Woodstock, about 25 miles north of Atlanta. But as the project fell victim to the Great Recession, the retail and restaurant buildings faltered and proposed townhomes were never built. By 2009, the mixed-use space was mostly vacant.
Meanwhile, Duke Realty client Northside Hospital was seeking a site for an ambulatory facility near its existing Holly Springs Medical Campus and the future home of the Northside Hospital-Cherokee replacement campus. Duke Realty recognized that the Towne Lake site would be ideal for Northside’s needs. But with very different requirements for medical use, the only alternative would be to acquire and tear down the nearly-new mixed-use buildings – an idea that did not seem very environmentally friendly at the time.
But the development team took the challenge head-on and brainstormed several sustainable solutions for the 8.23-acre property. Prior to demolition, thousands of dollars in building materials were salvaged from the existing structures and donated to local organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and MUST Ministries. The local fire department was invited to use the abandoned buildings for rescue training, and commented that it had never before had the opportunity to train under such realistic conditions. Under Duke Realty’s direction, the contractor, Brasfield & Gorrie, recycled more than 90 percent of the remaining demolished building materials, diverting them from local landfills. And the design team, including Duke Realty and architects Lyman Davidson Dooley Inc., was able to seamlessly integrate existing site elements such as rubble retaining walls, a large retention water feature and surface parking lots into the final design of the project.
Ultimately, what could have been an example of tremendous waste turned out to be a highly successful and sustainable project, earning well over the necessary amount of points required for certification under the LEED rating system. Among other things, the project earned perfect scores for construction waste management and the use of recycled content.
“The Northside-Cherokee Towne Lake project is a success on many levels,” says Jeremy Fortier, Duke Realty Senior Healthcare Manager. “Abandoned and unoccupied buildings in an affluent community were transformed into a readily accessible, thriving medical facility generating hundreds of jobs, as well as providing new cutting-edge medical services to area residents.”
The community also welcomed the new facility,” Mr. Fortier says, adding that local officials, including the mayor, said that the development was the most successful and well-executed project in the county in recent memory, and the patient population has agreed.
“LEED Certification is the icing on the cake,” he says. “This recognition reflects the commitment and dedication Duke Realty has for green design, building and operations.”
Located at 900 Towne Lake Parkway in Woodstock, the Class A MOB is leased solely by Northside Hospital and houses a wide variety of outpatient healthcare services and physician practices, representing numerous medical specialties. The facility is owned by Duke Realty Towne Lake Development LLC, a wholly owned entity of Duke Realty Limited Partnership.
About Duke Realty
With more than 25 years in the industry, Duke Realty’s healthcare team offers proven experience in providing hospitals and physician groups comprehensive planning, development, ownership and facility management services. Projects have ranged from small medical office buildings to large ambulatory care centers with diagnostics, oncology and surgery services. To find out more, please visit www.dukerealty.com/healthcare.
Duke Realty owns, maintains an interest in or has under development approximately 154.1 million rentable square feet of industrial and office assets, including medical office, in 22 major U.S. metropolitan areas. The medical office portfolio includes 73 existing properties totaling 5.6 million square feet, plus 13 buildings totaling 1 million square feet in the development pipeline. Duke Realty Corporation is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol DRE and is listed on the S&P MidCap 400 Index. More information about Duke Realty is available at www.dukerealty.com.
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