IBR Square Feet October 2015

VOLUME 1 IDAHO BUSINESS REVIEW 2015

Renewable Rooftops

T he views from Boises tallest buildings have always been spectacular. Far off, the curves of the foothills beckon. In season, the city of trees shows its greenery to advantage, and downtown construction provides nonstop activity.

But the higher you get, the more you see the rooftops of other buildings.

While some cities, such as Chicago and San

By Doug CopseySpecial to the IBR

See COVER STORY, page 10

ROOF PLANTINGS PROVIDE COOLING POWER, PATIO SPACE

INSIDE THIS ISSUEBoises LIV District 3A slew of standards 4Low-water landscaping 5Expert opinions 1 0Indoor air quality matters, too 14

CBC ADVISORS The Intermountain Wests largest privately held Commercial Real Estate firmwww.CBCadvisors.com | #CBCAdvisors

T H E H A W L E Y T R O X E L L W A Y

CLASS AAND

FULL SERVICE

Youve heard real estate is all about location, location, location. We say its all about making the right move at the right time. Our Real Estate Group understands this fast-paced industry and can help you make important strategic decisions about transactions, financing, and land use that will pay off. And, best of all, our nationally renowned legal services come with a local address.

BOISE / COEUR DALENE / IDAHO FALLS / POCATELLO / RENOCall 208.344.6000 or visit HawleyTroxell.com

Real Estate

O c t o b e r 1 6 , 2 0 1 5 | w w w . i d a h o b u s i n e s s r e v i e w . c o m | S Q U A R E F E E T q u a r t e r l y I D A H O B U S I N E S S R E V I E W p u b l i c a t i o n | 3

Leadership in energy savings and design

Rendering courtesy of Clif Bar.

A rendering of the 275,000-square-foot Clif Bar plant under construction in Twin Falls. The Emeryville, Calif. company says it will achieve the highest possible LEED certi-fication with a goal of zero waste, emphasizing water conservation and energy efficiency.

Welcome to the first edition of Square Feet, Idaho Business Reviews new quarterly publication on real estate and construction in Idaho.

Our first issue of Square Feet focuses on sustainable construction and design. In this issue, youll learn about some Idaho com-panies that are using responsible building to minimize fossil fuel use and waste. Youll see some of the standards and rating systems that have been developed to measure how developers are doing in saving energy and water. And youll meet some of the Idahoans who have made sustainability a top priority.

Sustainable building has been underway in Idaho for years. Ada County got an early start; back in 2005, its 350,000-square-foot courthouse and administration building earned a silver rating from LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Envi-ronmental Design.

Clif Bars 275,000-square-foot factory in Twin Falls is a great contemporary example of green building. Landscapers and builders all over Idaho even ones that werent selected to work on the project refer to Clif Bar when they talk about measures theyre seeing in their field to reduce energy and water use and improve conditions for employees.

Among other things, Clif Bar is building to maximize natural light; designing its roof to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and is installing an energy-cap-turing system that will divert extra heat to make its Clif bars. Clif Bars break rooms will give workers direct access to outdoor areas, and landscaping will include habitat for birds and bees. Clif Bar has a company orchestra and is building an on-site amphi-theater for events and celebrations.

ActiveWest Builders, a senior living developer in Coeur dAlene, builds all of its homes to meet LEED standards. This award-winning company locates its housing close to medical services, grocery stores, and conveniences, so residents dont have to drive as much. It builds homes as energy

efficiently as possible so residents power costs are low, and installs energy-efficient lighting, appliances, and windows.

And the states largest city, Boise, has set voluntary green building standards for all Boise buildings.

But Idaho still has a way to go. While developers and building owners apparently see a long-term value in using best practices as defined by environmental rating systems, tenants arent showing much interest in those standards. From the interviews with realtors that are published on p. 10 of this issue, and from other conversations with developers, its clear most local office tenants look mainly at cost when choosing workspace.

Its going to take some education to get local companies to recognize the long-term benefits, financial and otherwise, of green building and design. Green building propo-nents say sustainable practices lead to hap-pier employees and less turnover. Responsi-ble building practices reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fuel consumption, and building waste. And energy-efficient design and con-

struction will pay for themselves long before the life of the building is over.

One way to get your business on board is to make environmental sustainability a part of the company mission. Its a logical step in a culture that has made wellness a priority at

work. Moving to a healthy space makes the same sense as in-house yoga and smoking cessation: its a change of habit that becomes a way of life.

- Anne Wallace Allen, Editor

File photo.

The 356,000-square-foot Ada County Courthouse in downtown Boise was the first LEED-certified and first Energy Star-certified courthouse project in Idaho, according to Engineering Incorporated, a Boise engineering company that worked on the project. The courthouse received a LEED Silver rating in 2003 and has been recerti-fied with an Energy Star rating every year since, Engineering Inc. said. Among other things, the courthouse is heated with a natural geothermal infrastructure.

One way to get your business on board is to make environmental sustainability a part of the company mission.

Its a logical step in a culture that has made wellness a priority at work. Moving to a healthy space makes the same sense as in-house yoga and smoking cessation: its a change

of habit that becomes a way of life.

Anne Wallace Allen

Cutting Edge

CONSIDER IT DONE!Weve been serving our customers in the Pacific Northwest for more than three decades, providing full-scope building HVAC Services, along with Operations and Maintenance to commercial, residential, and government customers. Were based in Boise, Idaho, and serve customers throughout Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. We offer our clients worry-free heating, cooling, and mechanical service and maintenance.

208-376-1393 | www.tsshvac.com

4-Hour Free Look - Our expert assessment of your HVAC equipment and systems including the good, the bad and the ugly! This assessment includes a written report, and more importantly, tells us how we can build a plan to bring your HVAC equipment to optimum performance. Call TSS today and schedule your consultation.

4 | S Q U A R E F E E T q u a r t e r l y I D A H O B U S I N E S S R E V I E W p u b l i c a t i o n | O c t o b e r 1 6 , 2 0 1 5 | w w w . i d a h o b u s i n e s s r e v i e w . c o m

CITY OF BOISE ESTABLISHES VOLUNTARY GREEN BUILDING CODE

Boises voluntary green building code is aimed at nudging local developers toward increasing the efficiency of buildings beyond mandatory standards.

The Green Construction Code, which was approved by the Boise City Council in August, is mandatory for city-built projects, such as the new library at Bown Crossing that is expected to be be started this fall, and two new fire stations due to be completed in 2017.

The code includes guidelines on site development and land use, water and energy conservation, and indoor environmental quality.

And while the codes not mandatory, it has a strong incentive. Projects that meet the codes guidelines will receive faster permitting and more streamlined project management services, said the office of Boise Mayor David Bieter. Bieters office also said there might be monetary incentives down the road for projects that meet the new standards.

Stakeholders such as Matt Witt of Rocky Mountain development, Tyler Ressnick of the McAlvain Group of Companies, and Charlie Woodruff of the U.S. Green Building Council participated in putting together the standard, said Jenifer Gilliland, the citys building director.

Buildings can be around for 40 years plus, Gilliland said. Thats a lot of lost energy and water savings if you dont build it sustainably in the first place.

The city plans to building its new library at Bown Crossing to LEED version 4. LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a widely used green building certification program that recognizes best practices in construction. Sharon Patterson Grant, a sustainable building adviser based in Ketchum who works with the city, said the library might be the first building in Idaho to be constructed to that level of the LEED standard.

The city of Boise is leading by example, Patterson Grant said.

By Anne WAllACe AllenIdaho Business Review

There are plenty of different ways to as-sess and describe green building standards, large and small.

One of the best known is the U.S. Green Building Councils Leadership in Ener-gy and Environmental Design, or LEED. LEED is a series of rating systems aimed at increasing the environmental and health performance of buildings sites and struc-tures and of neighborhoods. LEED covers the design, construction, and operations of all types of buildings.

Green Globes is a Canadian rating and certification system aimed at improving environmental and health performance for commercial structures. In the U.S., Green Globes is administered by the Green Build-ing Initiative.

The ICCs National Green Building Stan-dard is a rating and certification system that encourages increased environmental and health performance in homes. Its criteria also apply to the design and construction of homes and subdivisions.

Theres also the International Living Fu-ture Institutes Living Building Challenge, a certification system that calls for transform-ing the design, construction and operation of buildings for environmental and health benefits. It also calls for the construction of structures that are restorative, regenera-tive, and an integral component of the local

ecology and culture.The Energy Star program, best known for

its certification of utilities such as dishwash-ers, is available for buildings as well. It fo-cuses on the use of energy and water. To be certified, buildings must meet strict energy performance standards set by the U.S. Envi-ronmental Protection Agency.

There are many others. But LEED is far and away the best known, said Elizabeth Cooper, the interim director of the Universi-ty of Idahos Integrated Design Lab. Cooper specializes in indoor air quality.

The rating systems vary, but what they all have in common is a recognition that thoughtful design and construction are key to productivity and quality of life. And what theyre all designed to do is enable develop-ers, banks, and everyone else involved in the construction process to measure how sus-tainable the design and construction are.

Just a few decades ago there werent any rating systems for green building. LEED came out in about 2000. The rating systems have made a big difference, said Cooper, but they have a long way to go.

One big change LEED and other systems have brought about is the standardization of municipal and statewide building codes toward a more green standard.

All of the codes now are much more energy-efficient, in part probably because of the new standards. The third-party stan-dards have driven it in that direction, Coo-

per said. Theres just a general undercur-rent of interest in, What can I do to make improvements?

While the building industry has largely accepted the notion of green building stan-dards, the banking industry, at least in Ida-ho, is still mulling them over, said Charlie Woodruff, the director of the Idaho office of the U.S. Green Building Council.

Woodruff said developers who are put-

ting up a LEED-certified building have a dif-ficult time convincing Idaho lenders that the investment will pay off in a way the financial industry can recognize.

Buildings that have lower water and en-ergy use produce higher operating income for their owners, Woodruff said. He added that some studies show these buildings have higher tenant occupancy rates and less turn-over. While there is data for lenders in other markets, Woodruff said there hasnt been re-search in Idaho that would help Idaho lend-ers assess the value of green buildings.

It would be valuable to have the lending industry understand green building technol-ogy, and the performance of green build-ings, so they can assign appropriate value to those buildings, Woodruff said.

A slew of sustainability standards

The ratings systems vary, but what they all have in common is a recognition that thoughtful design and

construction are key to productivity and quality of life.

Photos courtesy of CSHQA.

This overhang at the Whole Foods store in Boise provides shade, and the stores double-glazed windows reduce glare and cut heat absorption. This area of the store also includes bicycle racks and a bike repair sta-tion, and pavers designed as part of a stormwater management system.

These clerestory windows on the west wall of the Boise Whole Foods store bring natural light to back-of-the-house prep and warehouse areas.

land development professionals

Lead the competition, impress your clients, and deliver your work with unprecedented ease and in a fraction of the time with landprodata.

The latest records of survey, plats, parcels, CP&Fs, building permits, and more

Mobile application for use in the field

Robust searches and reports, integration with Google Earth mapping service, aerial photography & interactive maps

Customizable bookmarks and redlines

Built by professionals for professionals, landprodata is the tool for you!

(208) 939-1956 | [email protected] | www.landproDATA.com 2012 Google Inc. All rights reserved. Google Earth mapping service is a trademark of Google Inc.

landproDATA.com is service of landproDATA, Inc.


By Doug CopseySpecial to the IBR

A quick look around the Treasure Val-ley on any summer morning shows where much of Idahos water is going: onto the green lawns of area homes and businesses. Lawn sprinklers for landscaping are responsible for 58 percent of the ar-eas water consumption, according to Ben Helton, the owner of Cutting Edge Landscape, a landscaping com-pany in Boise.

A lot of that water ends up nourish-ing the landscaping, as its supposed to. But a lot of it also ends up as runoff on the roads. Some of the water makes it back to the river, but its usually car-rying a load of fertilizer with it.

It doesnt have to be this way, said Helton, who pitches sustainable landscaping to his customers.

A lot of people around here water as much as six or seven days a week, Helton said. Thats just not neces-sary. Lawns watered two or, at most, three days a week look great. You can literally train your lawn by watering effectively and efficiently.

Designing sustainable landscapes is a fast-growing trend in the United States. Helton, whose company, Total Main-tenance Solutions, merged with another Boise landscaper, Cutting Edge Lawn Com-pany, earlier this year, said technological ad-vances in irrigation systems have produced dramatic increases in water conservation.

The MP rotor is a simple nozzle for sprinklers that can cut water usage by as much as 30 percent. For around $300 Cut-

ting Edge will install a Water Tech S-100 sensor system in your lawn that plugs in to the existing sprinkler system and works with it to regulate watering. Both are manu-factured by Baseline Systems, another Boise

company that makes a variety of products that help homeowners and farmers alike water more efficiently.

Baseline, which also designs systems for school districts and park systems, has a tool that detects a mainline break and stops ir-rigation to prevent excessive water loss. The

Landscaping companies look to

sustainable water use

See LANDSCAPING, page 18

Photo by Patrick Sweeney

Ben Helton (left) and Bob Wheeler (center) speak with Jacob Stolworthy, who is seated in a propane-powered lawn mower at Cutting Edge Landscape in Garden City.

Peoples expectations for vibrant, well-manicured lawns are really high. Thats good

for business, but its also going to take a toll as the area grows, and as the demand for pressurized irrigation grows

theres going to be a big battle between subdivision landscaping and farmers. Ben Helton, Cutting Edge Landscape

250 S. 5th St. Boise, Id 208.378.4600 tokcommercial.com

Everything our property management team does is aimed at improving the performance of your assets. Staying current with sustainability practices helps our clients increase energy efficiency, lower operating costs, and improve a propertys long term value.

Our SuStaInaBIlIty phIlOSOphy BEnEfItS our clients,

their commercial assets, and our community.

COntaCt uS tO SEE hOw yOu Can ExpErIEnCE rESultS.

Sustainablepropertymanagement


Boises LIV District comes to life

Drawing courtesy of LocalConstruct.

Developer LocalConstruct is building this seven-story apartment complex with 160 units in downtown Boises Central Addition. The building will provide apart-ments, street-level retail and live-work units. LocalConstruct calls the $26 million project Fifth and Broad for now. The company said the apartment building was designed to enliven the local area and will include a wood-deck courtyard with a fire pit.

By eriC HAyesSpecial to the IBR

Downtown Boise is due for a lot of new elements in the coming years: several new hotels, some apartment buildings, and an expanded Boise Centre.

One of those new elements is a LIV dis-trict, a neighborhood designed for high en-vironmental and social performance thats being developed just east of the downtown core in the blocks at Capitol, Front, Broad-way, and Myrtle.

LIV stands for Livable, Innovative, and Vibrant. Its a concept that has sprung up in recent years to describe neighborhoods and districts that are designed as building blocks of sustainable cities. LIV districts are geared toward economic opportunity, community well being, and ecological health.

The districts achieve these goals through rigorous, consistent and transparent report-ing in the areas of governance, environmen-tal, and social performance, according to a Portland, Ore. nonprofit devoted to LIV called EcoDistricts.

Boises sustainable district will be called the Central Addition LIV District, and its organizers hope it will integrate high-den-sity urban housing with environmentally friendly building practices and pedestri-an-friendly thoroughfares to rejuvenate a part of downtown thats been unofficially given over to weedy gravel parking lots in the last ten years.

The Central AdditionThe Central Addition is a latecomer to the

intense wave of development thats engulfed downtown Boise over the last few years. Its just a few blocks from new arrivals like the Eighth and Main building, Trader Joes, and Whole Foods. But until recently, it was the mostly overlooked home to a collection of ramshackle historic houses. This summer, three of the houses were moved to new sites with one more scheduled for relocation, and another scheduled for demolition. Dan Everhart of Preservation Idaho said eight houses will remain in the neighborhood core, and that five of those buildings have significant historic value: the multi-col-ored workers cottages at the corner of Broad and Fourth, and the two-story Victorian be-hind them on Fourth Street.

The city and California developer Local-Construct have big plans for the district. The city plans to make Broad Street friendlier to pedestrians by making it The Coolest Street in Boise both literally and figuratively. A new storm-water retention system will pro-vide irrigation for the trees separating a wide, water-permeable sidewalk from a one-way road that prioritizes foot and bike traffic over automobiles. The stormwater collected un-derground will keep the area a few degrees cooler in the hottest summer months, and the trees will provide shade for patio seating.

Bike lanes will be added to Front and Myrtle. Additionally, a signaled pedestrian walkway at 5th and Myrtle will increase ac-cess to Julia Davis Park, connecting the new

development to existing public resources.The city is developing a partnership with

the U.S. Green Building Council, a non-prof-it with goals that align with the Central Ad-dition LIV and the nonprofit EcoDistricts. The USGBC is the group that created LEEDS Certification a 3rd party verification pro-cess for energy-efficiency in new develop-mentthat could help brand and identify the Central Addition LIV District as a desir-able neighborhood for an arriving genera-tion of professionals.

USGBC-Idaho Director Charlie Woodruff said market forces, and not policymakers, are driving sustainable development like Boises LIV District.

All the evidence suggests that markets drive this kind of development far more than incentives created through public en-tities, said Woodruff. One of our goals is to make it easier for the development side of these projects to work with the city in the creation of neighborhoods that this market seems to demand.

LocalConstruct plans a seven-level apart-ment building at Fifth and Myrtle streets with street-level commercial space and five floors of apartments, called the Fowler, af-ter the propertys original landowner. The wave-shaped building will use high-efficien-cy building materials and tap into Boises geothermal resources to limit energy con-sumption for retailers and the 160 residen-tial units on the upper levels. Residents are promised a Farm-to-Table experience in an urban setting that includes shared garden

space and open dining and cooking areas.Woodruff said some public leaders still

doubt it makes sense to build or support a sustainable district. He said that feeling will change as lenders learn more about how the benefits are measured.

Right now, a lot of productivity value associated with sustainable building design isnt properly accounted for because the en-ergy savings for both tenants and owners doesnt necessarily appear in the cost-benefit analyses seen by the lenders, he said.

But housing developer Thomas Mann-schreck said he builds sustainable, ener-gy-efficient buildings because they make economic sense.

The decrease in operating costs easily offsets the costs associated with certifica-tion, said Mannschreck, whose Boise com-pany, Thomas Construction Co., has built more than 70 apartment buildings. From an owners standpoint, theres no reason not to seek those levels of efficiency.

Steve Burgos, the Citys Environmental Manager, says that the Central Addition LIV District will function like a Green Lab for future Boise developmenta testing ground for resource-conscious planning and devel-opment in the city.

Margins for high-density urban housing in Boise are still tight because rents arent as high as they are in cities like Portland and Seattle, said Burgos. But this projects suc-cess could create a new development model that accounts for the needs of younger pro-fessionals looking to settle down in Boise.

T A S T E F U L A W A R D - W I N N I N G D E S I G N

1005 E Park Blvd, Boise ID 83712 p 208 384 1422c o r n e r s t o n e i n t e r i o r d e s i g n . c o m


Builders and lenders, meet green building

By CHArlie WooDruffSpecial to the IBR

Building science and technology have come a long way.

Modern consumers are more sophisti-cated than they used to be. They have new expectations and demands for commercial and residential real estate, including in-creased personal comfort, multi-purpose de-sign and environmental sustainability.

These days, office, retail and apartment tenants are thinking more about the indoor environmental quality and energy con-sumption of their spaces than consumers in previous generations did. Their motivations include maintaining higher standards of hu-man health, lowering utility bills and less-ening the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels. These trends set the stage for the growing market value of green building and LEED certification.

LEED certification means that a building has met industry leading environmental sus-tainability benchmarks. The independent, third party verification that LEED-certified buildings have achieved helps provide consumers in-creased quality control and value in their real estate choices. Developers, owners, architects, contractors and real estate professionals are increasingly interested in LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), and demand for LEED continues to increase year-over-year throughout the United States, and, increasingly, the world.

LEED is now used in more than 150

countries and territories, and LEED-certified buildings have consistently proven to be more valuable than their non-certified peers.

Portfolio managers, developers and tenants across the world are increasingly demanding the added value provided by third-party certification. The certification is a means of measuring the value of their assets and ensuring that their property is competitive in the global real estate market. LEED-certified buildings in Boise, Los An-

geles and Shanghai have all distinguished themselves in ways that make them more attractive for investors who can be sure that they are getting the best real estate available.

The commercial lending and appraising in-dustries play a critical role in the valuation of green building projects. They take sustainable design into account when they assign values to high-performance buildings. They know that features of sustainable design reduce op-erating costs and increase profitability through higher lease-up and occupancy rates.

Appraisers in particular have the role of defining the values of green building features that lead to increased profitability. Lenders and appraisers in many cities have been do-ing this for years. Here in Idaho, its important that Idaho lenders and appraisers do the same.

The U.S. Green Building Council, the de-veloper of the LEED green building rating system, developed LEED through a public and transparent process that solicits the in-put of industry members, environmentalists and other experts to create a measuring stick for green building that is reliable and robust. Projects in Idaho, like the recently certified Eighth and Main Building, and new projects that are pursuing LEED certification, like 5th and Broad or CSHQAs 2|B in the Central Addition, show that local developers want to deliver certified buildings to market be-cause they know that their clients care about verified environmental performance.

The City of Boise is pursuing LEED certi-

fication for the new Bown Crossing Library and the new Firehouse #8. The city has stat-ed its commitment to sustainability. Ada County has completed the most LEED-cer-tified projects in the Treasure Valley, because the countys managers know the value that environmental and utility performance will deliver for these real estate investments.

The decision that these property own-ers and developers made to pursue not only green building, but actual LEED cer-tification, comes down to long-term value and responsible investing. Developers are increasingly incorporating sustainability concepts into their buildings, but projects that have not definitively achieved LEED certification will not maintain the same level of asset valuation as their LEED-certi-fied peers over time.

Its encouraging to see that Boise is po-sitioning itself as a leader in sustainable design. LEED-certified buildings simply de-liver a better deal deal for consumers and taxpayers over the long term. This trend will continue to grow based on demand as consumers and businesses learn the value of sustainability in the built environment.

Charlie is the director of community for the U.S. Green Building Council in Idaho. He works with design and development professionals to advance energy efficiency, health, and sustainability in Idahos build-ings and can be reached at (208) 871-4601 or [email protected]

Charlie Woodruff | Photo by Celia Southcombe.

Get ahead inbusiness.Subscribe to Idaho Business Review and receive the states business newspaperthat helps you to be:

more competitive.better informed.successful in an aggressive market!

www.idahobusinessreview.com

IDAHOBUSINESSREVIEWFebruary 10, 2012 BUSINESS LEADS F Section Vol. 33 No. 16 $2.00

PO 8866, Boise, ID 83707 | 855 W. Broad St., Suite 103, Boise | 208.336.3768 | www.idahobusinessreview.com

Rental Rebound

Construction NewsPage 14A

LeadsPage 10F

Business ViewpointA good start, but not enough

Page 4A

FocusHome construction firmsfeel renewed optimism

Page 1F

Office rents arestabilizing in

the Boise area

Photo by Pete Grady

Office rents in the Boise area stabilized in recents months, new reports say.Appletons legacy has shaped the Treasure ValleyBY SEAN [email protected] Micron CEO Steve Appleton perished in a

plane crash Feb. 3, he left behind a legacy of unri-valed community and business support in Boise. Since 1994, when Appleton was appointed CEO,Micron has thrived as the Treasure Valleys premiersuccess story. And with its success came the localbenefits. Whether it was for economic development,schools or general philanthropy, Appleton and Mi-cron have been an irreplaceable boon. Bill Connors, Boise Metro Chamber of Commercepresident and CEO, paused during a recent inter-view as he ticked off charitable causes in the nameof Appleton and, under his direction, Micron.

Your paper isnt big enough to list everythingthey do, Connors said. Local leaders paint a bleak picture of the Boisemetro area without Micron in it, promising thatsome of the community support given by the semi-conductor giant could be replaced. But certainly notall.

There is no question that Steves contributionspersonally and the contributions of Micron had asignificant impact in the business landscape in thecommunity, said Rob Perez, president of WesternCapital Bank in Boise. Appleton, a stunt pilot, was flying a home-builtexperimental aircraft known for its light weight and

Traditional candycompany tries

something newBY BRAD [email protected]

The Idaho Candy Company, which hasa 102-year-old factory still running indowntown Boise, is launching its firstnew product in decades, the HuckleberryGem. The new treat hews close to the com-panys existing line, which is predomi-nantly marshmallow-based candycovered in chocolate. The HuckleberryGem will have a huckleberry-flavored softmarshmallow center and a darker choco-late covering than is used on the com-panys flagship candy, the Idaho Spud. Owner Dave Wagers said hes lookingto diversify and try out new products, butdoesnt want to reinvent the companyscandy.

Were an old-fashioned candy com-pany. If we do develop new candy, weregoing to develop new old-fashionedcandy, Wagers said. Im not going tocome out with an aerated chocolate withsparkles in it. The genesis for the candy came from acontest the company held in 2008, lookingfor a new candy flavor. The winner, asvoted on by school children, was a similarcandy called the Star Garnet. It wasnamed after the states official state gemor stone and it tasted like huckleberry,which is the official state fruit. Idahos the Gem State and huckle-berrys a good flavor, Wagers said. Hesusing natural flavoring, not real huckle-berries. Despite some research efforts,the huckleberry hasnt been domesti-cated for production and Wagers said hecant trust the huckleberry supply fromyear to year.

BY BRAD [email protected]

Office rents stopped dropping andstabilized in the Boise area in 2011,helping buildings regain some valuelost in the recession and inspiringsome businesses to come off the side-lines to reserve space.Average asking rents for officespace have increased for the last twoquarters, according to the Year-EndReal Estate Market Review by Boise-area offices of Colliers International.Full-service asking rents, which in-clude the landlords tax, insuranceand maintenance costs, rose from$15.61 per square foot annually at mid-year to $15.71 in the third quarter, andthen to $15.79 at the end of 2011, thefirm reported. The averages are forspaces 5,000 square feet and largeracross all quality classes.Thornton Oliver Keller Commer-cial Real Estate pegged average askingrents for office space at $14.10 persquare foot per year in the Boise areaat the end of 2011, up from $14.05 ayear ago. Average actual rent agreedto by tenants signing leases increasedfrom $12.40 to $13.25, the Boise-basedfirm reported. The TOK averages arefor deals of all sizes across all qualityclasses.It certainly has an effect on theoverall value of the property, saidBank of the Wests Mark Houston,

File PhotoMicron provides jobs to thousands of Idahoans. Its lateCEO, Steve Appleton, gave millions of dollars to causes inthe Boise area.

See CANDY, page 17A

See RENT, page 19A

See MICRON, page 18A

IDAHO BUSINESS REVIEW

Call, e-mail, or go online.800-451-9998

[email protected] https://subscribe.idahobusinessreview.com

Use promotional code BIZ and get 4 FREE issues.

Downtown hotel is slated for Nampa

By Teya ViTuIdaho Business Review

Nampa intends to swap land with a private company to enable construc-tion of a hotel on the surface parking lot at the Nampa Civic Center.The 81-room Best Western Plus would be the only hotel within easy walking distance of the citys conven-tion center.The City Council on Sept. 21 unan-imously declared its intent to enter into a land swap agreement with Pep-pertree Hospitality of Spokane, pend-ing an Oct. 19 public hearing and de-termination if the land swap is equal.Peppertree is purchasing a rough-ly 4,000-square-foot former Spanish church building at 11 13th Avenue South to exchange for 38,905 square feet of convention center parking lot at the corner of Second Avenue South and Third Street South.Part of the discussion leading up to the swap concerned the surface park-ing. Many planners nationwide say that surface parking isnt the best use for prime real estate.It was definitely a heavy discus-sion, said Beth Ineck, Nampas eco-nomic development director. We asked are we overparked? We just built a huge parking structure at Nampa Library Square.Nampa Mayor Bob Henry said the city has long tried to attract a hotel developer to build near the 25-year-old Civic Center. Eight of the citys nine hotels and motels are near the freeway. The only downtown proper-ty, the Downtown Inn, is seven blocks from the Civic Center and has only 30 rooms.


A set of six Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen na-tional fried chicken and seafood restaurants will dot the freeway corridor across southern Idaho in coming months.Popeye franchisee Norcal Cajun Foods of Concord, Calif., opened its first Idaho Popeyes at Nampas Gateway Center in December, followed by a second at Caldwell Com-mons in Caldwell in March. A third Popeyes is set to open in Boise on Broadway in the first half of October, said Sandy Mann, Norcals development director.Norcal also has Popeyes

in the works for Ammon, Chubbuck and Twin Falls.Popeyes is not new to Idaho. Another fran-chisee has had a Popeyes on Fairview Avenue in Boise since 1988, and a second Popeyes is at Mountain Home Air Force Base.Norcal, however, is broadening the Atlan-ta-based chains Idaho presence, if for no oth-er reason than logistics.Since we are there, we have an area man-ager take care of all the stores, said Mann, adding that it makes more sense for a manag-er to oversee six stores than just three.Our plans now are were going to head to northern Idaho, Spokane, Coeur dAlene, Lewiston, Mann said. Were pretty much done in Treasure Valley. There might be room for one more.


Four months of heavy lifting wrapped up Sept. 22 at the nine-sto-ry Clearwater Building that is taking shape at City Center Plaza in down-town Boise.Tall building construction projects typically have a topping off ceremony with dignitaries when work reaches its highest level. Such was the case Sept. 22 as Mayor David Bieter led a contingent including leaders from the buildings fu-ture tenants: Clearwater Analytics, the Computer Science Department at Boise State University, the Boise Centre and Valley Regional Transit.Since early May, ESI Construction has assembled 3,000 tons of structural steel from street level to the ninth sto-ry to create a heavy-duty commercial building, said David Bowar, ESIs se-nior project manager.Work on the Main Street site next to the U.S. Bank Tower started in Au-gust 2014, first to dig a 30-foot hole, the to install concrete-and-rebar footings to stabilize the walls. The foundation came after that.

The Clearwater Building isnt es-pecially tall, but the project required a 310-foot crane because the construc-tion zone comes within 17 feet of the U.S. Bank Tower and within eight inch-es of the CenturyLink Arena. It covers one lane of Main Street.Now that the last structural beam is in place, work at the Clearwater Build-ing shifts into enclosing the structure. This started in early August with fram-ing, sheathing and a rain screen sys-tem, Bowar said.Through the end of the year, a com-bination of metal panels, stone and glass will become the buildings skin.This helps us get it dried in, Bowar said about closing the building off from the elements.The $76 million City Center Plaza project also includes the Boise Centre

expansion, where construction is go-ing on between the CenturyLink Are-na and U.S. Bank Tower.Foundation work for the five-sto-ry convention center space started in June, with the structural steel going

vertical at the start of August. About half the structural steel is in place and Bowar expects to top off the Boise Cen-tre building in December.Completion for both building is ex-pected in fall 2016.

IDAHO BUSINESS REVIEWSeptember 25, 2015Vol. 36 No. 49 $2.50

PO 8866, Boise, ID 83707 | 855 W. Broad St., Suite 103, Boise | 208.336.3768 | www.idahobusinessreview.com

Business ViewpointGet paid for what you do

Page 8TopList Page 11Public Notice Page 14

Popeyes chicken will span Idaho west to east and maybe south to north

Photo by Teya VituPopeyes Louisiana Kitchen will open in October on Broadway in Boise.

See POPEYES, page 16

See NAMPA HOTEL, page 16

Photo by Celia Southcombe

Rafael Reyes is installing the final steel beam at the Clearwater Building at City

Center Plaza. It was signed by all attending the topping off ceremony.

City Center Plaza tops out

Sandy Mann

Q&A with Chris Middleton

Page 9


By Jeff WArDSpecial to the IBR

Rivers, water quality, quality of life. These terms are synonymous in the Boise lexicon of reasons we choose to live here. In the midst of desert with just 11.7 annual inches of rainfall per year, we enjoy a community of abundant parks, tree-lined streets and a green belt worthy of national acclaim. Hard work goes into protecting this quality of life including the efforts of multiple agencies who manage our stormwater.

Stormwater [run-off] is the rain or melted snow that doesnt immediately soak into the ground and flows over hard surfaces such as pavement, parking lots and rooftops. And, even though we dont make it or control it, once it leaves our property for someone elses softer surface, the public stormwater system, or nearby rivers and streams, it be-comes every property owners responsibility. Completely counterintuitive!

That is why stormwater management is a joint responsibility at the community, state and national level. What none of us can do singly, larger agencies oversee. Before paving, city sidewalks of wood were built up sever-al inches above the street. Run-off flowed down the street following gravity to the river. Decades of development later, cities build stormwater systems of piping, lift stations, catch basins and vaults to transport storm-water to the same place, the river. These sys-tems also allow stormwater to reach the river more quickly than in an undeveloped state, resulting in an increase in peak flow rates.

This solution is far from ideal. Storm water carries polluting chemicals, motor oil and fluids, trash, plant matter including weeds and seeds, construction debris, pet waste, silt and excess heat. In freezing tem-peratures, run-off thaws and refreezes, cre-ating dangerous conditions in parking lots, sidewalks and streets.

Enter the Idaho Department of Environ-mental Quality. The DEQ is directed by the Environmental Protection Agency, which is mandated by Congress to engage and direct local agencies and communities in manag-ing storm water, amongst other environ-mental concerns, to acceptable standards.

A primary management tool is the Na-tional Pollutant Discharge Elimination Sys-tem (NPDES) stormwater permitting system. Under this system municipal storm drain and storm sewer systems are periodically reviewed and permitted for ongoing use. Locally, the Ada County Highway District, Ada County Drainage District #3, Boise City, Garden City, Boise State University and the Idaho Trans-

portation Department District #3 are jointly permitted under one agreement. The most recent permit became effective February 1, 2013 and expires January 30, 2018.

Following the EPAs lead, and the general public concern for the health of our water-ways, NPDES is getting stricter. Many proj-ects are now required to manage all building and site sourced stormwater onsite. No run off, no flow to public drains, and absolutely no flow directly to waterways.

One example of an engineered solu-tion is River Park Place, site of Boise Whole Foods and Walgreens. Stormwater from this 5.5-acre site is managed by an Engineered Permeable Paver System covering about 1 acre of the site. Site grading was engineered for storm water to flow toward paver areas where it trickles down through sand and rock to native soil. The pavers are level with traditional parking lot surfaces and after three years of service are performing well.

Another example is the diagonal parking next to CSHQA at Second and Broad Street. A recent downpour was caught on video and the difference between an older, as-yet-un-improved building and the two-year-old CSHQA renovation is dramatic. Reports of the June 8 downpour vary from .62 to 1.22 inches in less than one hour.

Now to the question of cost. During the long development cycle for River Park Place, initial conversations featured a new pipe with pre-treatment to the Julia Davis Pond. Associated costs included an estimated $110,000 for pre-treatment, with additional costs for a bore under the street and a nego-tiated annual fee with Boise Parks.

Paver installation ranges from $10 - $15 per square foot, depending on the difficulty of installation. Tight allies with constrained access will cost more than open parking lots. Recent bids for standard parking lot paving are coming in at $3 - $4 per square foot. Keep in mind that only a portion of a typical parking lot needs pavers to manage the site.

At the CSHQA site ,seasonal high-ground water is too high for a traditional subsur-face infiltration basin and surface area is too valuable for a pond. Preliminary estimates indicated that the new paver system would cost about $150,000 more than a theoretical on-site pond.

These are not inexpensive systems, but long-term, very low maintenance is a key benefit. The most important benefit is protec-tion of our natural waterways. Other on-site methods include vegetated swales or ponds, and infiltration trenches (commonly called French drains). The challenge with these methods is space. Urban sites are too valu-

able to leave undeveloped and in many cases, existing buildings like CSHQA have zero lot lines. Streets or allies are the only option.

Todays urban architects, engineers and planners have many challenges ahead in managing storm water to new standards. The time when cities across the county, including Boise, can default to their rivers for dispersing unwanted run-off is coming to an end. We are being challenged to do better for our environment. It will take all stakeholders working together to find and apply solutions.

Jeff Ward, PE is a civil engineer and as-sociate with CSHQA. He has 12 years expe-rience designing site utilities and layout in-cluding stormwater systems and erosion and sediment control for commercial, industri-al, aviation and institutional clients. He is a Green Globes professional and member of the Public Advisory group currently revising stormwater management sections of the Ada County Highway District Policy Manual.

Jeff Ward

A look at what goes into permeable pavers. Drawing courtesy of CSHQA.

Stormwater management falls on all of us

Todays urban architects, engineers and planners have many challenges ahead in

managing storm water to new standards. The time when cities across the county, including

Boise, can default to their rivers for dispersing unwanted run-off is coming to an end.

Jeff Ward, reporter at the Idaho Business Review

Bringing energy efficiency and sustainability together to achieve bottom-line value in your

commercial properties.

2 0 8 . 3 8 4 . 1 4 2 2w w w . g r e e n s t e p s . u s

S u z i e H a l l , L E E D A P I D + C , A S I D

S h a r o n G r a n t , L E E D A P B D + C , C S B A

K e n B a k e r , L E E D A P


By JAAp VosSpecial to the IBR

Sustainable development has become synonymous with environment and envi-ronmental protection that is also good for the bottom line.

The reality is that sustainable develop-

ment is not about the environment or envi-ronmental protection. It is not about green buildings. It is not about climate change. It is not about electric vehicles, alternative energy sources or light rail. Sustainable development simply means meeting the needs of the pres-ent without compromising the ability of fu-ture generations to meet their needs.

That means that sustainable devel-opment is just as much about economic growth, farming, education, transportation and the provision of local services. What makes development sustainable is that it ad-dresses both the short-term and long-term

needs of people. So, in order to talk about sustainable development in Idaho, the conversation needs to start with identifying those needs. However, this is not an easy task.

In the summer of 2014, the New York Times published a map of the United States with the inter-esting title Where Are the Hardest Places to Live in the U.S.? For most states, the maps have a clear dom-inant color or a color pattern that reflects geographical features (such as coastal areas, river basins and mountain ranges). Idaho looks like a quilt made up of patches ranging from dark blue to bright red, indic-ative of the staggering differences between Idahos counties. The map shows that educational levels vary from 43 percent of the popula-tion with a college degree in Latah County, to Owyhee County where

less than 9 percent of the population has a college degree. Median income ranges from over $60,000 in Blaine County to just under $34,000 in Owyhee County.

The map is a good illustration of the many sides of Idaho. There are distinct land-scapes and cultures in Idaho, all with their own set of issues and needs. While construc-

tion in Boise is booming, rural communi-ties struggle with unemployment, isolation and the provision of basic services. While a student in Moscow is sipping coffee at Starbucks and studying for a final exam, a rancher in Owyhee County is rounding up his cattle, and firefighters in Lewis County are fighting the Lawyer Complex fire. The differences do not just exist between places, they also exist within places. While a profes-sor in Boise is able to spend time with her family after a twelve minute bike ride home over the greenbelt, an office assistant is stuck in traffic for 45 minutes on the connector on his way home to Nampa. While a second home owner in Sun Valley enjoys the sunset over the mountains, a service worker has to drive 25 miles to her rental unit in Haley.

Sustainable development is about ad-dressing the needs of all people and under-standing that the long term well being of ev-ery resident, town and local business affects our state. That is the real strength of sustain-able development. It starts with addressing the needs of all Idahoans. What those needs are is different for different people and for different places. But sustainable develop-ment is not just about the needs of an in-dividual, it is just as well about supporting local agriculture and businesses that invest in our communities. It is about making sure that infrastructure needed for people, busi-nesses and farmers is adequate throughout the entire state. It is about the ability of workers, the backbone of business, to have access to affordable services and the oppor-tunity to spend their money on goods and

services within their community.Yes, sustainable development should ad-

dress environmental issues because it is im-portant to take care of the natural resources that we rely on for our health, our well being and our economy. But in the end, a healthy environment is just one of many compo-nents that should be addressed to sustain a high quality of life.

Jaap Vos is a Professor and Head of the Biore-gional Planning Program at the University of Idaho. He teaches and does research about the role that planners can play in the future of the American West.

SuStainable Development: Meeting the needs of all Idahoans

What makes development sustainable is that it addresses both the short-term and long-term needs of people. So, in

order to talk about sustainable development in Idaho, the

conversation needs to start with identifying those needs.

Jaap Vos, Professor and Head of the Bioregional Planning Program at the University of Idaho

Jaap Vos

2,214 STORIESSome see an office block. Colliers International sees a hub of workforce activity for thousands of individualseach with their own story. At Colliers, we dont regard buildings simply by the floor count. We regard them as resources for people to work effectively and productively, together. Which is why we go to such lengths to understand each clients business, and realize the full opportunity for the use of space. Attention to the needs of individualsits just one more way we accelerate success.

colliers.com/boise

EXPERTISE

CommunityFun

1 0 | S Q U A R E F E E T q u a r t e r l y I D A H O B U S I N E S S R E V I E W p u b l i c a t i o n | O c t o b e r 1 6 , 2 0 1 5 | w w w . i d a h o b u s i n e s s r e v i e w . c o m

1) When searching for office space, what proportion of clients mention sustainable building and green design as a priority?

In our market very few tenants even mention sustainable or green design as a criteria. If their top two choices in an office came down to a green building and a conventional building perhaps the eco-conscious would come out and put an extra point for the green choice. I believe the companies that will consider green as a priority are those that are large enough to have ecology or the environment as a part of their mission statement and a company culture where they consider the environmental impact of each decision they make.

I believe that the reason green construction or sustainability is not more of an issue for office tenants is because they do not view their workplace as having a high negative impact on the environment.

They dont work in an oil refinery or a nuclear power plant, so the vast majority of tenants are not aware of the impact of electricity usage, water savings or the amount of waste that a building can create, both in garbage and construction waste with tenant improvements. If you relate it to residential homes, the Gardner/Zions Bank Building at Eighth and Main at approximately 250,000 square feet would be the equivalent of 83 3,000-square-foot homes.

2) Do your clients know specifically what they are looking for when they discuss sustainable building and design?

No, again due to the reasons listed above.

3) What are clients top three requests? (i.e. natural lighting, solar power, energy efficient building materials).

The vast majority of office tenants in our market are still looking for the age-old amenities in an office space, but it is not always clear how these can also be green:

1) Great natural light - Obviously this is accomplished with windows, but green buildings also consider using this light for power via solar energy. They may also bring light to internal areas of the building using lighting features that serve to lower electricity costs and help employees feel better.

2) A heating and cooling system that works and has multiple zones - Green buildings often have more efficient and flexible HVAC systems that allow a tenant to move ducting and vents to maximize the systems efficiency or the happiness of their employees.

3) Ample parking - green parking lots

having permeable surfaces allow rain water to naturally reenter the ground and can reduce the need for ugly and mosquito-infested detention ponds.

4) Quality of workplace amenities - employees like riding their bikes to work so having amenities such as secure bike storage is a great feature that makes em-ployees happy and aids in keeping cars off the road. Other features such as air quality can increase efficiency and the bottom line of a company by keeping employees healthier.

5) High efficiency/low expenses - The more efficient and flexible a building is de-signed and constructed, the more efficient it is, which in turn keeps expenses down that would eventually be passed onto the tenant in form of additional rent.


Tenants often request specific high performance items such as daylighting, energy efficient lighting or low-VOC (volatile organic compound) interior products without actually requesting a green or sustainable design. Those seeking certification such as LEED or Green Globes tend to be fewer and are often companies with specific sustainability requirements.


Landlords and tenants seeking sustainable design understand the benefits of energy efficiency, often seeking reduced operational costs and increased performance but they dont always understand the means of getting there. Identifying measures to ensure the building is high-performance is an opportunity to go beyond lighting and discuss the importance of other important factors such as a tight envelope, controls or commissioning. In addition, building owners are beginning to understand the value of using technology early in construction with Building Information Modeling (BIM) to help streamline construction as well as Building Energy Modeling Systems (BEMS) to ensure the building performs.

3) What are clients top three requests? (i.e. natural lighting, solar power, energy efficient building materials)

Tenants are looking for employee satisfaction through daylighting, indoor air quality including thermal comfort and location (walk to food, public transportation and parking). Owners and investors are beginning to realize the return on investment in high performance buildings, requesting energy efficient lighting, performance HVAC and controls. Together, landlords and tenants have the ability to design a space that offers both environmental and financial benefits improving employee performance and the bottom line.


I have been doing office leasing for 28 years and I havent had one client who that is their main priority.


I would say not typically.


Tenants like a lot of natural light (which doesnt have anything to do with being green) and they are more concerned about things like enough parking, a good HVAC system that works and location.


Our typical office user tenant doesnt really rank sustainable building and green design as a priority. Id say maybe 10 percent express this preference.


Most folks wont ask for sustainable design by name, but they are often concerned about attributes that are often found in sustainable design. Most acutely noted are electrical and HVAC costs which can be kept low by using sustainable design features but without sacrificing occupant comfort.


Electrical costs as demonstrated through lighting switching (occupancy sensors, timeclocks) are by far the most recognized features of sustainable design in our market. HVAC controls are a close second, and energy efficient materials (roof insulation levels, window thermal performance) are a distant third.

Expert Opinions Roundup

DJ THOMPSON associate director - Cushman & Wakefield | Commerce in Boise

Debbie Martinprincipal - DK Commercial in Boise

Chris Meyer partner - Parkwood Business Properties in Coeur dAlene

KARENA GILBERToffice specialist - Thornton Oliver

Keller in Boise

Experience makes thedifference 27+

years of knowledge and

expertise

Lease. Buy.Sell.

1880 S. Cobalt Point Way Meridian, Id. 83642

208.955.1014

Debbie Martin, SIOR

Full Service Brokerage

O c t o b e r 1 6 , 2 0 1 5 | w w w . i d a h o b u s i n e s s r e v i e w . c o m | S Q U A R E F E E T q u a r t e r l y I D A H O B U S I N E S S R E V I E W p u b l i c a t i o n | 1 1

COVER PHOTO: SAINT ALPHONSUS MEDICAL SYSTEM

Saint Alphonsus Medical System included a garden on the fourth-floor roof of its main hospital building in 2005 as a place for patients, staff and visitors to step outdoors I the course of their day.

The 6,500-square-foot garden was not created as a living roof that would create environmental benefits, but as a place for users to relax. It was planted with drought-tolerant plants such as succulents, lavender, and oregano, and with amur maples, and it has a fountain. It was designed by the hospitals Healing Environment Team, which used evidence-based healthcare design, said Tony Fisk, manager of community services.

Fisk said the designers looked key principles such as access to nature, and access to natural light. Its easily accessible off an elevator lobby, and patients, their families, and staff use it regularly, Fisk said.

We have a gentleman who goes out there on his break and plays his bagpipe, he said. You can go out there with a physical therapist, or we can wheel a bed or wheelchair out.

Francisco, have seen a surge in green roofs and rooftop gardens, Boise has been slow to adopt the practice of using plants for beauty and natural cooling. Places like C.W. Moore Plaza, which has a rooftop cafe, are spots of green. Boise State Universitys College of Business and Economics building has a working garden where students grow fruits and vegetables. The Mulvaney medical office building on the Saint Alphonsus campus has a rooftop patio with plants and hardscaping.

Wed love to see more, said Krisjan Hiner, a partner in the Boise landscape architect firm Stack Rock Group. But we have a hard time convincing building owners of the benefits.

Rooftop gardens provide a place for employees to visit. From higher points, they also provide a great visual alternative to the default, which is often a barren space sporting industrial-sized air conditioning units, compressors, vents and other equipment.

The cost of putting plants on a roof depends on the size of the space and its design, such as vegetation vs. pavers. Plants can range from a few dollars for enough grass seed to cover a two or three hundred square feet, to a several hundred dollars for a single tree. Maintenance equipment can run from a simple hose to elaborate drip and sprinkler systems.

It doesnt have to be a big burden on the structure or the budget, said Hiner. There are so many different ways to do it. A layer of fescue grass and a few sedums would only cost a couple of dollars a square foot to put in, and they need very little irrigation.

Rooftop plants have unseen benefits, Hiner said.

Most of the heat loss from a building goes up through the roof, he said. Combine that with all the asphalt, concrete, and the concentration of cars, buses and people in urban areas, and you create heat islands; areas that are producing significantly more heat that the surrounding rural areas. Putting plants and vegetation on rooftops works just like the insulation you put in the walls: It makes the building operate more efficiently. The air conditioning runs less in the summer, the heating system runs less in the winter, and that helps the bottom line.

Studies have shown that conventional roof surfaces can reach as high as 175

degrees on a sunny, 95-degree day. Rooftop vegetation cools the air over the building, and can reduce indoor temperatures by as much as six to eight degrees during hot weather. This, in turn, can reduce air conditioning costs by 25 to 30 percent in a single story building.

Rooftops can serve as a place for pollution to settle and detoxify. The soil in green roof systems absorbs rain water, and can reduce excess runoff by up to 90 percent annually, depending on climate, soil, and roof pitch, thus reducing the impact on municipal storm drainage systems and surrounding watersheds. According to Seattles Magnusson Klemencic Associates, green roofs can offset their installation and maintenance costs 30 percent to 60 percent by reducing the need for on-site storm water management systems. A green roof can even extend the life expectancy of a roof by protecting it from drying winds, the suns U.V. rays, or mechanical damage, according to Magnusson Klemencic, a structural engineering company.

People and wildlife also benefit from rooftop oases. The Royal Plaza apartment building in downtown Boise has a rooftop garden for residents and guests. Stack Rock Group has done rooftop projects in the Boise area, as well as for clients in Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City, and many others, and Dan Hiner said the company has one planned that will change things in Boise a ton.

In San Francisco, a city ordinance dictates that any new building must set aside some construction costs for public art and a green rooftop.

Green roofs dont have to be limited to new construction. The nonprofit Preservation Idaho, which carried out a rooftop tour in June, supports rooftop gardens and green roofs because they help keep old buildings running as smoothly and efficiently as possible, said Everhart, a Preservation Idaho board member.

Historic rehabilitation should incorporate sustainable elements where possible, Everhart said. The historic preservation movement has long argued that preserving and rehabilitating historic structures is the ultimate act of recycling, so why not add in a green roof where possible.

COVER STORY Continued from 1

Photo by Pete Grady.

The Boise State University College of Business and Economics has 6,000 square feet of living succulents planted on its roof to help manage rainwater runoff and provide other environmental benefits. The windowed structure was designed to let natural light into the building.

A place in the sunBUILDING DESIGNERS ADD ROOFTOP

PLANTINGS FOR INSULATION, GREEN SPACE

Krisjan Hiner

Dan Everhart

Photo by Celia Southcombe.

Photos by Celia Southcombe1. The wool-blend chairs are on coasters, with little handles on the back so they can be moved around.

2. The Gardner office has eight televisions, Jen Maier said. Theyre used for meetings and presentations. All the more execu-tive-level guys here have TVS in their offices.

3. The ping pong table traveled with Gardner from its former office to its new space in the U.S. Bank Building. Facing is Weston Arnell on the left and Mark Cleverley on the right. With their backs to the camera are Matt Pettersson (left) and Holt Haga (right).

4. There is a soda machine in the kitchen. They are all Diet Coke addicts, so they just decided one day to get a Coke machine, Maier said. The kitchen is always stocked with good snacks; we do Costco runs. Its free for everybody.

For this company, sustainable office includes ping-pong

The Gardner Companys official color is red, a fact that becomes immediately apparent on a tour of its 12th-floor office in the U.S. Bank Building. Bright red accents the sunny space, which was designed in 2013 by Suzie Hall of Cornerstone Design.

Gardner, a development company that built the Eighth and Main building across the street, owns the U.S. Bank Building, and is working on City Center Plaza next door to its offices, set out to create a lively space where it would be fun and comfortable to work, said Jen Maier, director of commercial operations for the company.

We like the bright, modern, crisp look, Maier said. The furniture came from Sprague Solutions in Boise.


By frAnk JossiDolan Media Newswires

Several years ago, a group of furniture manufacturers created the Sustainable Furnishings Council to promote an environmental ethos in the industry and to encourage the use of green materials.

Among the founders of the North Carolina-based organization was Golden Valley, Minn.-based Room & Board. The retailer uses sustainable materials in many of its products, from tables and chairs to sofas and accessories.

For the past four years the companys vendor resource manager, Steve Freeman, has served as president of the Sustainable Furnishings Council. He has taken the expertise and leadership skills he gleaned from working with suppliers and applied it to his role at the council.

The trade groups original goal, he said, was to create something along the lines of the U.S. Green Building Councils Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification program.

The impetus was to bring awareness of sustainability to the furnishings industry, to provide leadership, education and tools to the members to give them the ability to highlight their sustainability efforts, he said.

As the Sustainable Furnishings Council president, what has been your focus?

Since Ive been on board we have pushed for more consumer awareness and retail awareness of sustainability. Weve been doing more public relations geared toward consumers and hoping that their interest will lead to more demand for

sustainable products from retailers.

Has that happened?Consumers are becoming more interested

in sustainability, but what weve found at Room & Board is a greater interest in health. Customers ask less about sustainability and more about health and whether the furniture will have any negative impacts in their homes. We generally see sustainability and health are sort of one in the same.

Has there been a particular health issue that has cropped up?

Fire retardant chemicals have been in the news, especially because they are considered detrimental to the health of consumers and of firefighters who have to deal with the chemicals when fighting fires. California has a new standard we use at Room & Board that eliminates the need for toxic flame retardants.

What has been the primary challenge for the council?

There is a stigma about sustainability. Once you start talking about products being sustainable many people think that they are automatically going to be a lot more expensive. In some cases thats true, but its not necessarily the case in all situations.

Are businesses better customers for sustainability?

Businesses are a much more important market for sustainable furniture than the consumer market. When a business is designing a high-end property they are

often pursuing LEED and asking a lot of questions about whether products they might use are sustainable. Furnishings dont offer a huge amount of (LEED) points but every little bit helps.

How does Room & Board incorporate sustainability into furniture?

Its in the philosophy of what we do. We design furniture that has a long life span, does not go out of style quickly and uses finishes that are going to last. We use low-

VOC (volatile organic chemicals) in many products. The steel we use is 75 percent or more from recycled steel.

How did you get interested in sustainability and the environment?

I have been a big outdoors person my entire life and every year I do an annual expedition wilderness canoeing trip. Being in nature calms and energizes me and I want that experience to still be available to my kids, my grandkids and future generations.

A Q & A with Steve Freeman: How sustainable is your furniture?

Photo by Bill Klotz

BOISE IS NOW HOME TO PRIMELENDING

With 30 years of dedicated mortgage experience,PrimeLending is excited to announce another location in the Treasure Valley. PrimeLendings seasoned local staff have been helping families buy homes since 1990. PrimeLending loan officers work and serve in the communities near their homes, which gives them the advantage of having local housing-market knowledge with the strong backing of national financial resources. Thats what makes a PrimeLending loan officer so beneficial when clients are looking to purchase, refinance or relocate.

THE TREASURE VALLEY WELCOMESPRIMELENDING

When you choose to make a move to PrimeLending, you can depend on joining a company thats known for award-winning service and dependability.

Ranked a Top 10 purchase lender in 2012, 2013 and 2014*

Customer satisfaction rating of 95% for 2014* Ranked No. 4 in Top Places to Work among

Large Companies in Financial Services

PRIMELENDING BOISE BRANCHLocated in the Heart of the Meridian Village3597 Monarch Sky Lane Meridian, ID 83646208-488-4218

*Ranked by Marktrac for purchase units nationally for Jan. Dec. 2012, 2013 and 2014*Per PrimeLending survey results during the period Jan. 2014 to Oct. 2014. As ranked in 2014 on the Great Rated! Peoples Picks: 20 Great Workplaces in Finances Services list as part of PrimeLendings participation in the annual FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For competition.

PlainsCapital Company (NMLS: 13649) is a wholly owned subsidiary of a state-chartered bank and is an exempt lender in ID. V121013.

002278 /Print Ad


Indoor air quality matters, too

By elizABetH CooperSpecial to the IBR

We spend approximately 90 percent of our time indoors, but we dont completely understand indoor potential hazards.

It pays to pay attention to indoor air quality.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statis-tics, the first costs of construction account for only 2 percent of the 30-year total build-ing costs for commercial office buildings. Operations and maintenance of a building are a bit more at about 8 percent of the total lifetime expenditures.

The other 92 percent of the buildings costs are spent on the people that will use the building. That means even incremental improvements in performance can translate to big savings. Reductions in absenteeism, employee turnover, and direct healthcare costs, and an increase in productivity, can mean big financial rewards for a building owner who pays attention to indoor air qual-ity. The consequences of failing to address unhealthy indoor environments, whether

actual or perceived, can have a large impact on the health of the building occupants and

the owners bottom line.There are precise ways to measure in-

door air quality. The United Kingdom came up with an energy efficiency stan-dard (BREEAM) in the 1980s, and the U.S. Green Building Councils LEED pro-gram started its first pilot project in 1998.

Since then, many developers and build-ing owners have come to recognize the real savings associated with energy efficiency. Its easy to do the math on some of those savings: change in the energy use multiplied by the cost of the energy, less the additional cost of the intervention.

Extensive, complex and accurate ap-proaches to design, analysis and verifica-tion have been developed to optimize the energy performance of buildings. However, the role of human health and well being in sustainability has, until recently, largely been ignored or dismissed. In an effort to reduce building energy consumption, we have been designing and building more and more tight-ly contained indoor environments. As the air infiltration has been minimized, we have si-multaneously introduced advanced materials that often result in an increase in emissions of contaminants.

Human health is affected by a wide range of building components. Historically, it was lead in paint, asbestos found in insulation and flooring, and PCBs in everything from caulking to lighting fixtures. Those materials caused a multitude of health problems, in-cluding cancer.

In modern buildings, contaminants in-clude VOCs from paint, adhesives, carpet and other finishes, which can cause eye, throat and lung irritation. Mold and mildew from improperly installed or maintained finish materials that may cause allergic reactions or asthma. There are also new types of chemi-cals that are common, in large amounts and that persist for months or years in the build-ings. These chemicals, called SVOCs, have been linked to developmental problems, hormone disruption, and cancer. Building users come in contact with SVOCs from the surfaces they touch, the food they eat, and the air they breathe. It is therefore important to try to both limit the use of these products in the construction of the building, but also to design systems that allow these contam-inants to be cleaned out of the building as efficiently as possible. People also need ad-equate amounts of daylight, access to views and a comfortable and controllable range in temperatures. Without these, people become less productive, they request more leave, and turnover rates increase.

A few standards are starting to take no-tice of the opportunities that the gap in the green building market represents, and one of these may be beginning to get some traction. Yet, there is still resistance in some sectors to implement an integrated design process, or to use the most cost-effective and efficient methods.

Given the resistance to a relatively sim-ple and quantifiable approach to design and construction, how will the more qualitative impacts of improvements in the built environ-ment for human health be addressed and ac-cepted? One group of entrepreneurs is poised to try to answer that question with their stan-dard that was developed with human health as its target objective. Delos Living LLC cre-ated and launched the WELL Building Stan-

dard in October of last year. It is administered by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) a public benefit corporation (B-Corp).

The standard was designed around seven concepts that are considered to be relevant to the built environment and human health and well being: Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Fitness, Comfort and Mind.

Each of these concepts includes a list of features that are applied to the project. Pri-marily, the features are performance-based standards with specifically identified metrics to be measured, met and monitored. There are, however, some features that require very specific approaches or technologies to be implemented before the feature can be in-cluded in the score.

The standard has selected eleven systems of the human body that are intended to ben-efit from each feature, including nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, reproductive, in-tegumentary, muscular, skeletal, urinary, respiratory, digestive and immune systems. In total there are 102 features that are con-cept-specific, address certain health systems, and are targeted at three building types. As with other certification standards, some of the features are compulsory, called Precon-ditions in WELL, and others are voluntary, called Optimizations.

The first version of WELL was optimized for commercial & institutional buildings. But pilot projects in multifamily, restaurant, retail, education are underway. Not all proj-ects, even office projects, will approach the certification in the same way, and not all fea-tures are appropriate for every project.

Three project typologies have been es-tablished: New & existing buildings (cer-tification), new & existing interiors (certi-fication) and core and shell (compliance). Certification of registered projects is done through a process of onsite assessment and performance testing. IWBI has contracted with GBCI, the same organization that cer-tifies LEED projects, to assess and certify WELL buildings. As with LEED buildings, there are levels of performance that can be earned based on the number of opti-mization features achieved. In addition, WELL has been designed for simultaneous use with LEED v4 or The Living Building Challenge. WELL features can be attained through several of the LEED categories, in-cluding materials and resources, material disclosure and optimization, material in-gredient reporting, avoidance of chemicals of concern, indoor environmental quality, enhanced indoor air quality strategies, and low-emitting interiors.

It is yet to be seen if this new standard will prove to be cost-effective and will ben-efit health and well-being. Given the sig-nificant contribution of personnel costs on business operations, it only makes sense that we include human health impacts in the design, construction and maintenance of our buildings. The list of registered or cer-tified WELL projects is still very small, with none yet in Idaho. But with healthcare costs continuing to rise, and the costs of absentee-ism and impaired productivity so high, the consideration of human health in the built environment seems destined to become a part of the integrated design process.

Elizabeth Cooper is the interim director of the University of Idahos Integrated Design Lab in Boise.

Elizabeth Cooper


By frAnk JossiDolan Media Newswires

After finishing meals in one of the four cafes of Boston Scientifics sprawling cam-pus in Arden Hills, employees face four bins where they dutifully separate the remains of their trays.

Colorful signs depict which items should go into the two compost bins and those for trash and single-source recycling. Having begun an aggressive program of collecting organic materials in a separate waste stream this year, the medical device manufacturer is seeing an average of 8 tons of materials a month being diverted from solid waste to composting.

This is a complex site to manage, and its been a couple of steps forward, a cou-ple of steps back but its come together, said Sonia James, environmental specialist at Boston Scientific. It was a big change but we thrive on change.

Composting is coming into its own as the next frontier in recycling. Theres been an uptick in interest in organic recycling, said Mike Harley, executive director of the Minneapolis-based Environmental Initia-tive. We just had our first event solely fo-

cused on this topic and thats a reflection of how far this issue has come and how much interest there is in the business community.

Its not only corporate campuses but also building management companies that have become interested in organic composting, he said. Continuing interest in sustainabil-ity from the business community has been helped along by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerces Waste Wise Foundation pro-gram to reduce waste, said Harley.

In fact, Waste Wises website points to other examples of organics composting. The St. Paul Hotel won the 2014 Sustainable St. Paul award for an aggressive organics pro-gram that saves $5,000 every year in waste hauling fees. Cafe Latte has reduced waste by 50 percent since implementing an organics program in 2011.

Waste reduction is old hat, Harley said. This has emerged as a primary component of the waste stream, and businesses now recognize that they need to get their arms around it. There is cost savings because ma-terials that are removed are not subject to the hefty weight tax [for waste] that businesses pay which varies county by county.

Two public policy changes have occurred in the past few years to boost organics re-cycling in significant ways, Harley said. One is a regional goal of diverting 75 percent of the waste stream from landfills. It will be difficult if not impossible to do that without business being fully engaged and without organics being part of it, he said.

A commercial recycling mandate goes into effect January 2016, which requires most businesses to recycle three different materials.

Its not specific which three materials, but you have to pick three, Harley said. It can be paper products, plastics and or-ganics can be one of them.

To create more of an organic diversion program, leadership has to be involved. People worry about compost smelling and attracting flies. Harley points out that these same items sit in garbage cans even though there is no composting.

Its something thats a common misper-ception, he said. If leadership is commit-ted to this you can overcome some of those misperceptions.

Making it work isnt easy. Good signage

and employee education are starts, though befuddled employees standing before the bins are reminders that it takes time, he said. Having the bins together is another key to making any recycling work because employ-ees will not walk to several spots in the lunch-room to dispose of their leftovers, he noted.

Jill Curran, executive director of the Waste Wise Foundation, said interest has increased as counties around the state have struggled to reach recycling goals. Single stream recy-cling has helped improved recycling rates, she said, but organic materials have to be in separate containers. The good news is once a business embarks on organics recycling there is no going back.

Weve never had a business that started an organics diversion program ever stop it because of problems with the smell or any-thing else, she said.

Tom Heuer, business development direc-tor of the Minneapolis-based Aspen Waste Systems Inc. said that organics composting can be an expensive proposition for busi-

Photo by Bill Klotz.

Sonia James, environmental specialist at Boston Scientific, shows how colorful signs inform employees which items should go into the bins for compost, trash and single-source recycling.

Recycling of organic matter goes mainstream

See BOSTON SCIENTIFIC, page 18

ARe you doing the sAme thing foR legAl issues?

827 e. park Blvd., ste. 201 Boise, idaho 83712(208) 489-0100 mwsslawyers.com

when you have serious medical issues you see a specialist.

the constRuction lAw expeRts


JUNETwo new business

strategists join TitleOne

Bill Clark and Kerrie Scott have joined TitleOne as busi-ness strategists.

Clark has ten years of experience in the construction in-dustry and 12 years of experience in business development. He volunteers as a youth referee and serves as the life direc-tor for the North Idaho Building and Contractors Associa-tion and on the NIBCA board of directors.

Scott brings more than 12 years of experience in the title and escrow industry and 13 years in real estate sales. She founded the Coeur dAlene Traders Club, served as educa-tion chair on the Coeur dAlene Association of Realtors for six years, and she is a member of the Womens Council of Realtors and Business Networking International.

Coldwell Banker Tomlinson Group adds agent team

Laurel and Scott Meyer have joined Coldwell Banker Tomlinson Groups Eagle office.

Laurel Meyers experience includes residential and mod-el home interior design, as well as retail merchandising. She received a BA in interior design from California State Uni-versity, Long Beach.

Scott Meyer spent nine years in graphic design and ad-vertising management before becoming a licensed contrac-tor in California and Idaho. He holds a BA in Illustration from California State University, Long Beach.

Shannon Stacey is broker assistant for Tomlinson Group

Coldwell Banker Tom-linson Group has appoint-ed Realtor Shannon Stacey as the new broker assistant for the companys down-town Boise office. She will assist Managing Broker Pat-rick McTigue in supporting and mentoring the offices real estate agents, as well as helping in the companys agent recruiting efforts.

Stacey has experience in the business development and insurance industries

and holds a BS in anthropology from Boise State University.

New president for Guerdon Modular Buildings

Pete Murray has been

Documents

IBR Square Feet October 2015