Vertical Screen Breaks Ground On New Green Corporate Headquarters Building
(Warminster, Pa., February 19, 2010) — Vertical Screen, Inc. today broke ground on a new headquarters building designed to be Bucks County’s first new construction project to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the highest achievable level in the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) sustainability rating system.
Vertical Screen is a family of applicant screening companies founded in 1989 that includes Business Information Group (BIG), which focuses on financial services firms; Certiphi Screening, which serves the healthcare community; and Truescreen, which serves the general business sector. The company is currently headquartered in Southampton, Bucks County, Pa. The new headquarters project will retain more than 150 existing jobs and create more than 100 new jobs over the next several years.
“LEED Platinum certification is an ambitious goal. But, I strongly believe it’s a fully achievable goal. It will reap benefits for our company for many years to come in terms of energy savings, providing a better environment for our employees, enhancing our company’s reputation in the marketplace and helping make green buildings more mainstream,” said Vertical Screen CEO Tony D’Orazio.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by dignitaries including U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, Pennsylvania State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, Pennsylvania State Rep. Bernie O’Neill, Governor’s Action Team Director Michael E. Rossman, Bucks County Commissioners Chairman Charles H. Martin, Bucks County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Robert F. Cormack and Warminster Township Board of Supervisors Chairman Gail E. Johnson.
The new 49, 600 ft building, which is being constructed on a 9-acre Brownfield site previously occupied by the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), includes a number of sustainable systems, such as a geothermal - more - HVAC system, photovoltaic solar panels, rainwater harvesting, day lighting systems, LED lighting and small wind turbines. It is expected that the building will consume approximately 50 to 60 percent less energy than a standard office building, in part because it features interrelated systems; for example, efficient lighting systems generate less heat, so the air conditioning system does not have to work as hard to cool the space. The new Vertical Screen headquarters building was designed by Erdy McHenry Architecture, LLC, a Philadelphia-based firm that is a leader in the field of green building design. The LEED Platinum certification process began during the building’s planning stages. Architecture and design teams reviewed LEED credit templates in five main areas of the project: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality. Each item on each template is reviewed to determine which elements are already included in the project and which can be added or adjusted to earn more credits. Status is awarded by the USGBC based on the total number of LEED credits a building earns. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. The Vertical Screen project is on track to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the highest level available from the USGBC, upon the building’s completion.
Vertical Screen expects construction to span a timeframe of about one year, and aims to open the building in late 2010 or early 2011.
Source: Vertical Screen
