North American wind and solar developer Apex Clean Energy has unveiled plans for a new corporate headquarters in downtown Charlottesville, Va.
As the anchor tenant of a new 130,000-square-foot building, to be located on Garrett St. in the city’s Strategic Investment Area, Apex will occupy 60,000 square feet of office space.
According to the company, which is already based in Charlottesville, the transition will enable the consolidation of more than 170 employees currently spread across multiple office buildings extending from Court Square to the former Martha Jefferson Hospital.
Most notably, the design of the building will achieve significant environmental milestones, including on-site energy generation and materials and efficiency measures that will set a new benchmark for sustainable practices in the local built environment, says Apex, which turned to Charlottesville-based William McDonough + Partners to create the design.
“Beyond our work to accelerate the shift to clean energy through utility-scale wind and solar projects, it is critical for us to act and lead on sustainability,” says Mark Goodwin, president and CEO of Apex Clean Energy. “We look forward to the collaborative opportunities that bringing our team back together under one roof will provide, in addition to a healthier and more constructive work environment that maintains our current walking distance to the Downtown Mall.”
He adds, “The building will leverage forward-thinking design and technologies that will also deliver significant economic efficiencies. From a financial perspective, we expect this move to meet, or even reduce, the costs that are currently spread across our multiple-office footprint.”
In terms of neighborhood impact, the infill development will provide enough parking underneath and within the building to cover 100% of the needs of Apex and any additional office tenants, as well as spaces to serve other businesses in the area. Multiple electric vehicle charging stations will be provided, and Apex will retain its program that provides financial incentives to employees who commute via ridesharing, cycling, walking or other means of transportation not necessitating a parking spot.
In addition to office space, Riverbend Development, the developer of the project, plans on offering 10,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor. Groundbreaking is expected to occur in mid-2018 with an anticipated 24-month build-out.
