West Side flour mill renovation launches brownfield cleanup, targets LEED Platinum

The building sits vacant now, but what was once the Watson-Higgins Milling Co. and eventually became a head and cylinder rebuilding shop in Grand Rapids is slated for renovation. When the work is complete, the developers expect to pursue LEED Platinum certification, the U.S. Green Building Council's highest designation.

Chris Muller of retail real estate firm, M Retail Solutions, and Keith Winn of Catalyst Partners, a consortium of sustainable design professionals, bought the building at 502 Second St. to create new offices for both businesses. Winn, a founding member of the U.S. Green Building Council and vice chair of the LEED Steering Committee, leads the efforts to develop and introduce new cost-effective energy efficient construction techniques to the renovation.

"We've had a real long road for energy modeling involving lighting and HVAC systems, roof structure and even wind power," Muller says. "There's been collaboration between the mechanical and electrical engineers to make sure (the construction) is the most cost effective it can be, as well as LEED."
 
Preliminary plans include a brownfield cleanup, a possible geo-thermal heating system and the proposed development of a cistern and rain garden system to keep storm water onsite. Wind power and solar energy could be part of the equation as the project evolves.

When complete, a 1,200-square-foot handicap accessible meeting area will bring the two-story building to 3,900 square feet.

"The building has really cool brickwork on the inside and outside that we'll try to expose," Muller says. "The M Retail space will have terra cotta firebrick on the walls and part of the ceiling, and free standing industrial crane leftover from a previous life."

Muller estimates the renovation will come in around $500,000 when completed this fall.

Catalyst Partners is handling the energy modeling and LEED administration. Wolverine Construction did the architectural design and will head up construction.

Source: Chris Muller, M Retail Solutions

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].