Boston’s first LEED Platinum commercial interior project didn’t go searching for flashy awards. Instead, when Leggat McCall Properties built a new headquarters out of 10,000 square feet of shell space, they had two goals in mind – speed and efficiency.
They pulled off the 12-week job in just 15 days, and slashed their energy consumption. Raised flooring, underfloor wiring and air distribution, modular wall partitions, and flexible sprinkler heads will enable the firm to save time and money on future space reconfiguration. The cherry on top, said Leggat McCall President Eric Sheffels, is by acting only in its own economic self interest, Leggat McCall created the greenest office interior in Boston.
Eric Sheffels
Title: President and Chief Investment Officer
Company: Leggat McCall Properties, Boston
Age: 50
Experience: 25 Years
What was the point of the 15 Days project?
It was intended to put our money where our mouth is and convince clients to take risks with their projects in order to achieve higher degrees of sustainability and flexibility and speed in their construction projects.
Are there savings up front?
The up-front costs turned out to be almost exactly the same as they would have been had we done it traditionally. The savings from decreased construction time were offset by higher expenses incurred by the specialty energy-saving items, or flexibility-enhancing items. The long-term energy costs are anticipated to be less than half what they would be under traditional cost configuration. Additionally, there were very substantial tax benefits.
And then, if it only takes days to reconfigure your space, there’s savings on that end.
We anticipate that when this space is ultimately reconfigured, it should be able to be done for far less than half of the cost, in far less than half the time.
How difficult was it to get to LEED Platinum?
We did not set out to achieve LEED Platinum. We set out to have it be LEED certified, but I told our project managers we would not spend any additional money to get higher levels of certification than what we would have otherwise spent for rational reasons. It turned out we got to within a point of LEED Platinum making decisions as though we would have otherwise made them. We did make a single decision to get a single point that I would not have otherwise done.
Where do you see these techniques being applied?
A lot of the technologies will have applicability in retrofits – things like wireless switching, flexible sprinkler heads that allow them to be relocated without having to do extensive modifications to the system. The totality of them will probably only be able to be used in new construction. The idea of using reusable wall systems without metal studs being shot into the floor will see very widespread use. The moniker we came up with is something we call Smart Floors and Dumb Walls. As opposed to the way current construction is, where the walls have the power and data and telecom. Everything we need to sustain the space is either above the ceiling or below the floors, which allows us to reconfigure the pieces that change on a frequent basis very, very easily. That’s the magic of what we’re doing here. And we’re doing it on a very, very low-cost basis.
How’s business on the investment side?
We’ve been sitting on the sidelines for the last three years or so, having only recently begun to acquire again. We see the climate for acquisitions being very favorable over the next couple years, despite the fact that the leasing market and general economic climate will be flat or potentially down.
Why were you on the sidelines?
We thought the cap rate compression, and values in relation to any kind of historic metrics we could see, were far out of whack.
What was the trigger point to get you back in?
With Ames Pond in Tewksbury, we acquired a 70 percent leased asset for about 25 percent of replacement cost. It’s producing positive cash flow today – it’s in a good location, and it’s a good quality asset. That’s something we’d like to replicate.
Top five current projects:
1.) B3C Project at MGH $650 million hospital project.
2.) Battery Wharf $300 million condo, hotel development in the North End.
3.) NewBridge on the Charles $450 million multigenerational project for Hebrew Senior Life in Dedham.
4.) Brandeis University $150 million new science lab.
5.) Ames Pond Corporate Center Leggat MCall bought the Tewksbury office complex in April.
