Taking the LEED
Community Development Customer Service Center set to open late fall
By Susan Nienow CONTRIBUTING WRITER

When the county's new Community Development Customer Service Center opens this fall, it will combine the zoning, building inspection, environmental engineering and planning departments in one location. The center was built using "green" design principles.

When the Chesterfield Community Development Customer Service Center opens in late fall, county residents will find the departments of zoning, building inspection, environmental engineering and planning all in one place.

"It's going to consolidate all of the customer service departments under one roof," said Bill Dupler, the county's director of building inspections. "Currently they are in seven different buildings. We studied customer service and citizen contact, and located those departments with the most contact on the first floor [with one customer service counter]."

The fire and life safety, revitalization and transportation departments will also move to the new building. Total occupancy is planned for the end of October.

Chesterfield goes "green"

Seven years in the pipeline, the new threestory, 90,000 square-foot Customer Service Center was built to be environmentallyfriendly, and utilizes LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) design principles. Buildings that incorporate "green" design can seek LEED certification at four levels: regular, silver, gold and platinum.

The county has already submitted its application for LEED certification. It will soon undergo a review process, and then be assigned a level, explains Capital Projects Manager Jasna Allen.

But, the Customer Service Center is more than just "green," said Bob Rivers, the county's capital projects division manager. "The environmental impact will be far-reaching."

The building will support two alternative types of transportation. In addition to bicycle storage and showering/changing rooms, parking spaces have been set aside for carpooling and vanpooling.

The landscape design manages runoff from the roof and parking lot. Landscaping will consist of native and drought-tolerant plants that do not require a permanent irrigation system.

Water efficient technologies inside and out will contribute to a 36 percent reduction in water use. And, the 30,000-square-foot roof is covered with a special material that reflects more than 70 percent of sunlight.

In an effort to improve air quality, the adhesives, sealants, paint, carpet and composite wood products used in the building contain no or low amounts of substances like formaldehyde that have a detrimental effect on health. Special mat systems have been installed in the entryways to trap pollutants and keep them from being spread through the building.

Over 90 percent of construction waste was diverted from landfills and sent to recycling facilities. Building materials from the structure that previously occupied the site were also recycled.

Despite its "green" design, which typically costs more than traditional construction, the project is expected to come in under its $22 million budget.

Doing the shuffle

Over the next few months, a shuffle will begin as departments move from the main county office building, the former Trinity Church and other leased space into the Customer Service Center. (Located at the corner of Krause Road and Rt. 10, Trinity is owned by the county and is no longer used as a church. It includes a two-story office building on the back of the property.)

Floor plans have been created for the vacated spaces to best accommodate the new departments that will occupy them. The moves have been planned as a "cascade," so that not everyone is moving at once and to minimize the number of moves.

The building that the engineering department currently occupies will be torn down, and the land will become green space.

Future plans

The shuffle will continue into the future. Over the next four years, other departments will move or occupy additional space elsewhere in the government complex. Long-term, the residential-looking Rose Building, which is now home to the real estate assessor's office and located in the government complex, may either be adapted for commercial use or be demolished.

Parks and Recreation is also currently in need of additional space. The Extension Office will move out of its current home next to the Parks and Recreation Department and into space in the Trinity Church facility along with "Chesterfield University," the county's training and education department. When that happens, Parks and Recreation will take over the space vacated by the Extension Office.

Long-range plans call for a new facility for Parks and Recreation that would be located near its operations facility. When it moves, the real estate assessor's office will move into the old parks and recreation building and the Extension Office building.

The Commissioner of Revenue and Treasurer's offices are currently not connected nor even next to each other. But, there is a courtyard between the two that may one day be developed into additional space and provide easy access to both offices for the public.

However, right now, the county's long-term plans are just that-plans. They are not funded nor has any work been done on them.