| The Frieze Harley-Davidson dealership in O'Fallon, IL. |
St. Louis-based Vertegy has been credited with helping to guide the sustainable design of the greenest Harley-Davidson dealership in the country. The firm was recently notified by the U.S. Green Building Council that the Frieze Harley-Davidson dealership in O'Fallon, IL, on which Vertegy served as LEED consultant, was awarded LEED Gold certification.
The certification makes the dealership the first LEED-certified Harley-Davidson dealership in the country as well as Vertegy's 15th LEED-certified project.
“I am very excited to be the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealer to construct a LEED-certified building,” states Jenny Frieze, owner and general manager of Frieze Harley-Davidson. “I hope other business owners and Harley-Davidson dealers will be encouraged to take similar steps when constructing new facilities. I am very proud to have the opportunity to contribute to a program that will have a positive impact on preserving our environment.”
Trumpet Builders, the project's general contractor, was the driving force in bringing Vertegy to the team, which also included Karasek Architects, the designer of the state-of-the-art facility. The new eco-friendly building consists of a 33,000-square-foot showroom and maintenance shop and has superior energy efficiency. Partially powered by a wind turbine, the facility was constructed with insulated concrete forms (ICFS), an energy-efficient structural wall system providing an insulation R-value of 40.
The building's environmentally friendly aspects include rapidly renewable bamboo wood flooring, specialty coatings in the display area, and a combination of lighting means. Natural light emitted through the northwest showroom windows and more than 40 solatubes are supplemented by the computer-controlled light system, which provides an energy savings mode for all of the artificial light fixtures. Another energy saving feature is the maintenance shop's radiant floor system, which is heated from burned waste oil.
The building is sited within naturally landscaped grounds, using native grasses, plants, and drought-tolerant shrubs and trees.
“We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to be part of the team for this unique project, and we congratulate the Frieze family for their commitment to building the greenest Harley-Davidson dealership in the country,” says Thomas Taylor, general manager for Vertegy. “We hope the Frieze facility will encourage other business owners to consider ways that their facilities can go green.”
Besides the new Frieze facility, Vertegy has helped 14 other buildings achieve LEED certification, including the St. Louis region's first two LEED Platinum commercial facilities, the Alberici headquarters building and the William Kerr Foundation.
