*The City of Rocky Mount will host a Streetscape Celebration May 30, 2013 at 4 pm. Congressman G.K. Butterfield, who also attended the kick-off for Streetscape, will serve as the event’s keynote speaker. The public is invited to the event, scheduled to be held at 119 Southeast Main Street in Downtown Rocky Mount.

Streetscape is the name for visual elements of a street, including the road, street furniture, open spaces and more. The City of Rocky Mount will be joined by Butterfield, as well as Rocky Mount High School’s Marching Band; Rocky Mount residents; the entertainment group, the Voltage Brothers and others to recognize and celebrate the completion of Phase 1 of the Downtown Streetscape Project.

The project, a $6.5 million investment, resulted in a wide array of street improvements on Main Street and Thomas Street, including the addition of street trees, benches, bike racks, trash receptacles, widened sidewalks, decorative pedestrian level lighting to enhance safety at night, the conversion of some streets to two-way operation to improve traffic flow, and access to parking and changes to the infrastructure, such as underground utility upgrades and reconstruction of the storm drainage system.

“We thank the business owners and those who visited Downtown Rocky Mount for enduring street construction for more than a year,” says Downtown Development Manager Vanessa McCleary. “The positive transition of Downtown Rocky Mount is evident. While there is more work to be done, it’s time to celebrate all that has been accomplished. We invite everyone to celebrate with us and to hear remarks from Congressman Butterfield, who has always been a strong advocate for improvements in Rocky Mount.”

According to Public Works Director Jonathan Boone, the next two phases for Streetscape will include an expansion to the East and West. However, the timing of the expansion will be a result of funding and other Downtown initiatives.

For more information on the Streetscape Celebration, call 972-1332 or visit www.rockymountnc.gov.

*Taken from press release dated May 1, 2013 – City of Rocky Mount, North Carolina

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The “H2” hotel and retail complex will be LEED Gold certified. The complex is being designed by Gensler, an international architectural firm headquartered in San Francisco. “We are working with the Los Angeles office of Gensler. After our selection, we were excited to learn Gensler was the architectural firm since we have collaborated with their Charlotte office on previous projects,” stated Heather Kinsey, who leads sustainability efforts for the company. Gensler is a global architectural and planning company with 3,000 plus employees in 41 locations, including Charlotte.

Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) selected Elm for their leadership in commissioning and commitment to sustainability. PB is a professional services firm with 14,000 employees in 150 offices providing construction and operation management, planning, design, engineering, program management, strategic consulting, environmental and sustainability services for clients and communities in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia-Pacific regions. Elm was founded in 2005 to increase sustainability awareness and improve resource conservation. They are an original signatory of the Architecture 2030 Challenge, an agreement which seeks to reduce carbon emissions to zero by the year 2030.

For the H2 project, Elm Engineering is providing commissioning services, facilitating communications among the owner, American and Korean designers, and contractors, ensuring that energy and water consuming systems are installed and function at peak operating efficiency. “Commissioning is quality control for the construction process, giving building owners and facility managers an operating manual for their expensive and complex buildings. You wouldn’t buy a car without an owner’s manual, why should a building owner spend millions without getting an owner’s manual for the building? Asked Tom Garchk, commissioning manager for the H2 project and an owner at the firm. “Heating, ventilating, air conditioning, lighting, and water controls will be monitored for optimum performance by the measurement and verification system we are deigning for the facility”. Over time, performance degrades without regular maintenance so regular tune ups are necessary for longevity and best operation. Savvy building owners all over the world are commissioning their buildings to increase building profitability and reduce operating costs.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2014. Elm will be traveling to South Korea at least six times during the design and construction period. “This is an exciting time in our industry, and this will be a beautiful building,” stated Ms. Reitterer. “The opportunity to do business internationally is a thrilling experience .”

Photos of our latest trip to Incheon, Republic of Korea.