Savannah, Ga. – September 9, 2010 – The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) has opened its newest facility, formerly Garden City’s City Hall, and unveiled a series of significant environmental improvements.

“The newly renovated Annex 2 Building is an excellent example of GPA’s commitment to conservation,” said GPA’s Executive Director Curtis J. Foltz. “This facility achieves environmental savings across all metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 reduction, improved indoor quality and stewardship of resources.”

Annex 2 will use 30-percent less water than average commercial buildings, saving more than 45,000 gallons of water annually. Additionally, the building will use 25-percent less energy than average commercial buildings. Both the lighting and HVAC in the building were designed to maximize energy performance. Optimizing energy performance will reduce environmental impacts associated with energy use, while reducing operation costs of the building. For example, all appropriate rooms are equipped with a sensor that turns off the lights after a certain time limit to save power.

“Once again, the GPA is demonstrating its commitment to energy conservation and reducing its environmental impact,” said GPA’s Executive Director Curtis J. Foltz. “As we expand our operations, we continue to look for ways to improve efficiencies and operate in an even more environmentally-friendly manner.”

During the renovation of GPA’s Annex 2, half of the demolition debris and construction waste was recycled. Commonly recycled construction materials include wood, metal, gypsum wall board and carpet. Additionally, recycled content materials made up one-third of the materials used to construct this building. These materials include wall board, acoustical ceiling tile, porcelain ceramic tile, toilet partitions and carpet.

Construction materials were chosen with low off-gas emissions to increase air quality for the occupants. The paints and coatings, adhesives and sealants, carpets, composite woods and office furniture in Annex 2 were all selected based on the lowest levels of contaminates, resulting in a healthier working environment. Not only do contaminate-free materials and furniture contribute to the well-being of occupants, they help to preserve the environment.

Additionally the GPA incorporated the following environmental design elements: solar lighting for the parking lot, designing around existing trees in the parking lot so as to preserve them, capturing and reusing storm drainage for irrigation, and designing the roof with reflective materials so as to reduce solar gain.

The GPA has applied for LEED Commercial Interiors (CI) Silver status for the Annex 2 building. To qualify for LEED Silver status, the building has met many environmental criteria.

“The green building movement offers an unprecedented opportunity to respond to the most-important challenges of our time, including global climate change, dependence on non-sustainable and expensive sources of energy and threats to human health,” said President, CEO and Founding Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council Rick Fedrizzi. “The work of innovative building projects such as Georgia Ports Authority’s Annex 2 is a fundamental driving force in the green building movement.”

The GPA’s Annex 2 houses GPA’s Port Police, Credentialing, Employee Health and Credit Union. It provides a great opportunity to improve the terminal’s efficiency, as well as services for GPA employees. Consolidating GPA’s Port Police and Credentialing Center into one location improves the efficiency of security operations, while removing non-essential traffic from Garden City Terminal. GPA’s employees will also benefit from a new and expanded employee health facility and credit union.

Georgia’s deepwater ports and inland barge terminals support more than 295,000 jobs throughout the state annually and contribute $15.5 billion in income, $61.7 billion in revenue and $2.6 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia’s economy.

For additional information, please contact GPA’s Senior Director of External Affairs Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.  Visit the GPA web site at www.gaports.com.

FACT SHEET: Annex 2

   
• Water Conservation: Annex 2 will use 30-percent less water than average commercial buildings, saving more than 45,000 gallons of water annually.

   
• Energy Conservation: The building will use 25-percent less energy than average commercial buildings. The lighting and HVAC in the building were designed to maximize energy performance. Optimizing energy performance will reduce environmental impacts associated with energy use, while reducing operation costs of the building. For example, all appropriate rooms are equipped with a sensor that turns off the lights after a certain time limit to save power.

   
• Recycled Demolition Materials: During the renovation of GPA’s Annex 2, half of the demolition debris and construction waste was recycled. Commonly recycled construction materials include wood, metal, gypsum wall board and carpet.

   
• Recycled Building Content Materials: Recycled content materials made up one-third of the materials used to construct this building. These materials include wall board, acoustical ceiling tile, porcelain ceramic tile, toilet partitions and carpet.

   
• Indoor Air Quality: Construction materials were chosen with low off-gas emissions to increase air quality for the occupants. The paints and coatings, adhesives and sealants, carpets, composite woods and office furniture in Annex 2 were all selected based on the lowest levels of contaminates, resulting in a healthier working environment. Not only do contaminate-free materials and furniture contribute to the well-being of occupants, they help to preserve the environment.

   
• Solar Lighting: The employee parking lot features solar-powered lighting with no connection to the power grid.

   
• Storm Water Management: Storm water is captured, treated using natural methods and used for irrigation at Annex 2. This maintains and recharges the groundwater.

   
• Energy-Efficient Roofing: Reflective materials were used for roof construction to increase the building’s overall energy efficiency by reducing the interior heat load.

   
• Natural Shading of Developed Areas: The parking lot was designed to retain as many trees as possible and new trees have been added to provide shading for the developed area.