Green Business: Building a solar catamaran; Jimtown store seeking ‘gold’

Autodesk (Nasdaq: ADSK) is partnering with German solar company PlanetSolar to build the world’s first solar-powered catamaran. The two companies hope to circumnavigate the globe in the futuristic-looking vessel to demonstrate the potential of renewable energies while advancing hybrid and electric-powered means of transport.

PlanetSolar will use Autodesk prototyping software to design the craft, since “building an actual prototype of the vessel would contradict the environmental philosophy of the project,” said Robert Kross, senior vice president of Manufacturing Industry Group at Autodesk.

The voyage, which will follow the equator with PlanetSolar president Rahpael Domjan at the helm, is slated for 2010. It will cover nearly 25,000 miles at an average speed of 10 knots, taking about 120 days and setting several new world records.

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The planned $750,000 remodel of the landmark former Jimtown Store in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley into a bar, tasting room for Medlock Ames Winery and market for local products is being designed with environmentally friendly features, according to General Manager Kenneth Rochford.

“The ranch is somewhat out in the sticks,” he said. “We wanted a central location.”

The 1,400-square-foot project could qualify for enough points under the Existing Building version of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design project-rating system to earn Gold-level certification, according to Mr. Rochford. Whether certification is pursued will depend on cost.

The existing Alexander Valley Store and Bar closed on March 31 to prepare for the renovation. If the county of Sonoma signs off on final details on needed use and building permits, construction could start this month, and the store would reopen by the beginning of August.

For the restoration, owners Chris Medlock and Ames Morison hired Tierney/Figueiredo Architects of Santa Rosa, general contractor Earthtone Construction of Sebastopol, interior design firm Wick Design of San Francisco and New York-based Nelson Byrd Woltz, which was the landscape architect for the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania.

The property was acquired four years ago. Two years ago the owners took over management of the bar and the adjoining store last year. The renovation plan includes moving the bar to the rear of the building and redesigning it as a “speakeasy.” The front side will house the tasting room plus a market for local agricultural products, including olive and meat items from the 335-acre Bell Mountain ranch.

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Salmon Creek Falls Environmental Center at Salmon Creek School in the west Sonoma County community of Occidental had its grand opening on April 4 and is in the running for Platinum-level certification under the New Construction version of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design project-rating system.

Features of the project are a “living roof” designed and installed by Symbios Holistic Design & Development Co. of Occidental; wall finishes made from recycled wine corks, glass and surgical gowns; a salmon migration observation deck made from recycled redwood; and a conference table made from a fallen redwood on the 30-acre property.

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Napa Redevelopment Partners’ plan to recreate the 152-acre Napa Pipe plant south of Napa has received Gold-level certification under the U.S. Green Building Council, Congress for the New Urbanism and Natural Resources Defense Council’s pilot Neighborhood Development version of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design project-rating system. According to a March 9 letter from the council, 62 points on the rating scale were documented and approved.

Under the pilot LEED-ND rating system, projects can be certified at three stages: before entitlements, once they’re secured and at project completion. A draft environmental impact report on the Napa Pipe proposal is set for completion this summer. The plan currently calls for 2,580 homes, 150 rooms each in a retirement center and hotel as well as light-industrial space for food and wine processors.

Three other North Bay projects seeking LEED-ND certification – Angwin Ecovillage, Shiloh Sustainable Village in Windsor and Sonoma Mountain Village in Rohnert Park – are among 240 registered endeavors nationwide.

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Though the Marin County Employees’ Retirement Association has decided against seeking green-building certification for its new offices because of the time and cost involved, its 1 McInnis Parkway location in San Rafael could qualify for enough points for certification under the Commercial Interiors version of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system, according to Charnel Benner, chief executive officer and retirement administrator.

However, it likely wouldn’t reach the Gold-level LEED-CI certification earned by Autodesk for improvements to its offices on the second floor of the building, she added. The pension fund acquired the 40,000-square-foot building in October 2007 and moved into 13,300 square feet of the first floor in November 2008.

The project cost $1.3 million, or $100 a square foot, for the improvements plus another $30 a square foot for landscaping, special-needs-access and other building upgrades.

“We saved significant funds by recycling, repurposing and retaining the prior tenant’s buildout wherever possible,” Ms. Benner said.

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A Green Building and Design Academy at Montgomery High School has evolved out of an after-school club.

Len Greenwood, a teacher at the high school, was a sponsor and mentor of the club. It is designed to teach students about green-tech jobs. Students go through school like everyone else, but in addition to meeting their normal high school requirements, they leave school prepared for jobs in the green sector.

The program started last fall, and this year there are 30 sophomores involved.

Tom Trent, owner of Tom Trent Builders, is on the Montgomery High School Green Building Advisory Committee, comprised of local business owners and people who are interested in seeing youth leave school prepared for the industry of the future.

“I was moved by this project because many of the young people are ‘at risk,’ and seeing them learn to articulate themselves is inspiring.

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