Green Buildings Tour
Date: March 7, 2010
Time: 1:00 – 4:00 PM (check-in at 12:30 PM at the Tampa Convention Center)
Registration Fee: $60.00 (includes transportation, tour guide and refreshments; due to space limitations, participation will be limited to 3 persons per company)
Space is limited. Registration cut-off date February 25, 2011

The Green Buildings Tour will leave the Tampa Bay Convention Center and travel to the Beck Building in the Heights via water taxi. After touring the Beck Building attendees will once again board the water taxi, which will travel to the Tampa Bay History Center. Attendees will take a behind the-scenes tour of the History Center and afterwards may tour the museum on their own until 5:00 PM. The Tampa Bay History Center is within close walking distance of the Tampa Convention Center and area hotels.

The Beck Building in the Heights
The Beck building is a 30,000 square foot office building with two floors of open office space. The third floor features a 50-person community conference room and garden roof deck overlooking the Hillsborough River and Waterworks Park.

Seeking LEED Silver Certification, it is the first building to be constructed in “The Heights” and will set the tone for future projects. The Heights is to be a mixeduse urban town center and waterfront entertainment destination. It is devoted to enhancing the urban pedestrian lifestyle.

Green features of the Beck Building include shading devices on the south side of the building, an all white, cool roof composed of materials with a high solar reflectance index, a concrete mix containing a high volume of recycled content and a garden roof deck utilizing drought tolerant plant material.The tour will also include a visit to the refurbished Trolley Barn.

Tampa Bay History Center
Opened in January of 2009, the Tampa Bay History Center is the first Hillsborough County-owned building registered under the LEED Green Building Rating System.

In addition to recycling 89 percent of its construction debris and restoring a former industrial brown field along the Hillsborough River, the History Center has taken a complete approach to “going green.” Post-consumer carpeting lines the History Center’s gallery spaces and the building interior features low-flow fixtures, sensor-activated faucets, room occupancy sensors and a controlled lighting system. Low volatile organic compounds (VOC) and coatings were used to ensure potentially harmful residual off-gassing was minimized or eliminated.

To cool the building, project contractor Walbridge installed high performance HVAC system components including variable flow primary chilled water technology, premium efficient motors, variable frequency drives (VFD’s) on all air handlers, chilled water pumps and cooling tower motors, and air-to-air heat recovery technology. The centerpiece of this high performance HVAC system is a McQuay Model WMC 250-ton Magnetic Bearing, VFD driven, dual compressor chiller. The Magnetic Bearing and Direct Current (DC) permanent magnet VFD driven motor technology provides superior part load and full load efficiency. The compressor does not require oil or oil management components for bearing lubrication. The magnetic bearing technology levitates the rotating shaft/impeller in the motor/compressor, eliminating metal-to-metal (shaft to bearing) contact, thus eliminating bearing friction loss. The Tampa Bay History Center also benefits from the chillers’ reduced sound and vibration qualities.

About the Tampa Bay History Center
The Tampa Bay History Center includes three floors of permanent and temporary exhibition space focusing on 12,000 years of Florida history. The History Center also features a Museum Store, the Witt Research Center (a branch of the Hillsborough County Public Library System), a map gallery, an event hall and the Columbia Cafe. One of Tampa’s premier cultural venues, the History Center’s hands-on activities, together with cutting-edge interactive exhibits and theaters provide a unique educational experience. For more information, visit www.tampabayhistorycenter.org.

Please note: Weather in Tampa during March can be chilly, so be sure to wear either a jacket or sweater. Attendees are encouraged to bring their cameras, however, flash photography is not allowed at the Tampa Bay History Center. Complimentary lockers are available at the Tampa Bay History Center for those who do not wish to carry a bag or backpack with them on the tour.