Earth Day is April 22nd, and with new projects going up daily across the Valley, many construction companies are using greener methods to ease their environmental impact and ensure their buildings are energy and water-efficient for years to come.
The green building market is expected to be one of the fastest-growing industries worldwide, with the number of LEED-certified projects in the U.S. rising from 296 certifications in 2006 to more than 69,066 as of October 2019.
Build Your Future Arizona applauds companies that are looking to reduce their footprint and stay competitive as the demand for more sustainable projects grows. Check out some of our investors’ latest and upcoming projects:
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.: Solar Energy Projects
In 2022, McCarthy Building Companies Inc., will kick off three major solar projects outside of Buckeye, AZ. The first of these projects will begin mid-April, with the other two beginning in September. Solar project sizes are determined based on the amount of power that they produce, and these projects will produce a combined 900MW of power. This equates to about 650-700 craft employees needed over the course of the three projects to complete the sites. The majority of the work will peak at the beginning of 2023 if all the current projections remain constant.
Hensel Phelps: Marriot International Headquarters
Open March 1, 2022, following 41 months of construction, the new 785,000 SF Marriott International Headquarters will house over 3,500 Marriott employees. The project was developed by Boston Properties and designed to meet the LEED Gold standard. Hensel Phelps’ scope of work contains the core and shell building, the 354,000 SF five-level parking garage, plaza, and more. The building features a grand entrance with a prominent 55-foot-tall point supported glass wall with vertical AESS vertical mullions, laminated with a 1 1/16-inch vision, 5/16-inch outer layer and ½-inch air space providing a high thermal performance supporting the project’s LEED Gold certification.
Suntec Concrete: Hyatt Place Phoenix Downtown
Suntec was a key contractor in the Hyatt Place Phoenix Downtown Hotel in 2021. The 238-room, eight-story hotel brings practical amenities, intuitive design, and a casual atmosphere to the ever-evolving Downtown Phoenix area. The hotel also features several above-industry standard energy-efficient components, including an HVAC system with variable refrigerant flow fan coil units, high-efficiency water heaters, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and LED lighting throughout.
The Weitz Company: Organic Waste to Renewable Energy Development
The Weitz Company will partner with True North Renewable Energy, LLC (TNRE) and DRANCO, Inc. as the Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) Technology supplier for their organic waste to renewable energy development projects in the Western United States. These facilities will be capable of processing up to 600,000 tons per year of organic material, producing up to 1,000,000 MMBtu/y (8MM DGE/y) of Renewable Natural Gas and reducing pollutants by 160,000 MT of CO2e/y (equivalent to 35,000 passenger vehicles per year). The project will break ground for the first plant in 2022, and with all three plants to be fully operational by the beginning of 2025.
These are only four of the many sustainable projects our investors take part in. We couldn’t be more thankful to work with companies who share our mission of supporting and ensuring the future of Arizona. Happy Earth Day!
The Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation‘s Construction Workforce Initiative, Build Your Future Arizona’s mission is to create a sustainable and skilled craft workforce by creating awareness about high-paying construction careers, training opportunities, and mapping career paths to employment in these high-demand occupations.