Donna Riley-Lein
Baldwin People Editor
Real Estate office opening
ROBERTSDALE – The Baldwin County Association of Realtors has moved. The association, which according to Executive Officer Martha Taylor, was occupying about 3,000 square feet in Fairhope, officially moved into 30,000 square feet of office and conference space last Thursday.
“It's just wonderful,” said Taylor, seated in her new office. “We have been saving for years.” She added that the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design “silver” rated building building cost about $1.1 million to build. The lot next to the Post Office in Robertsdale cost about $300,000 and new furnishings were about $300,000. The group broke ground on the project Sept. 11 last year, and the staff actually moved into the office in June.
“It's fantastic,” said Jay Jennings, the chair of the young professionals group. “This is what we needed to be able to grow.”
“The best part is we have no mortgage,” said Taylor with a smile. While it was more expensive to build a LEEDS building, Taylor says that the organization will save money on energy costs over the years. The office with its airy, open spaces does not betray that it is “energy efficient.” There are large conference rooms and classrooms with state-of-the art presentation systems. The only thing that might alert visitors that the structure has been designed to make the most of natural resources is the parking lot.
Visitors drive over an asphalt driveway in the parking lot, but park their cars on a gravel surface, which allows rainwater to percolate naturally through the ground to a holding pond. This eliminates much storm-water runoff, lessening the building's impact on the sewer system. The building, which makes use of many “salvaged” items from other structures is also well-insulated, reducing heating and cooling costs.
To read the complete story, see the July 21 edition of Baldwin People, in every Gulf Coast Newspaper.
