DETROIT, Mich.--The United States Postal Service (USPS) is choosing Clayco Inc. as the design-builder for its first two LEED Certified buildings. Plans include the renovation and expansion of the mail Processing and Distribution Centers (P&DC) in Troy, Mich., and Greenville, S.C.
“These buildings are the first of their kind--designed with green upgrades to achieve LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council,” says Paul Todd Merrill, P.E., LEED AP, and Clayco’s director of sustainable construction. “This achievement will be a major catalyst for the improvement of facilities and services available to their employees, our citizens and ensures that the Postal Service is taking steps in the right direction to meet the needs of its patrons while also protecting our nation’s valuable resources for future generations.”
The $9.2 million Royal Oak Mail P&DC renovation project includes revamping the former 143,000-sq.-ft. P&DC facility into a hybrid building used for corporate office space and as a carrier annex for local delivery operations. In preparation for the renovation, the USPS has consolidated its Royal Oak mail processing operations, and those of several satellite operations, at a new facility in Pontiac, Mich.
Located northwest of Detroit, the single-story renovation will feature a major upgrade in energy conservation along with an overall update on interior finishes and exterior function. Building upgrades will require full Michigan Occupational Safety and Health (MIOSHA) compliant removals of asbestos plank flooring as currently installed in the facility. The project is expected to be completed in June 2009.
In addition, Clayco is working on an existing 58,000-square-foot Postal Service P&DC in Greenville, S.C., for renovations and consolidation and constructing a 205,000-sq.-ft. addition to accommodate a new mail processing and distribution center. The single-story expansion will be design-built using concrete tilt-up strategies. The $17 million project is expected to be complete in April 2010.
Clayco is currently renovating a USPS mail processing and distribution center in Palatine, Ill., and design-building a 55,095-sq.-ft. addition for the installation of automated flats sorting equipment. The new updates will increase efficiency and lower operating costs by reducing the time letter carriers spend in the office preparing for mail delivery while increasing the time they spend delivering mail.
