May 2009, Cover Stories
Born to LEED
Now in its second generation, The Gialamas Company continues to lead where other companies follow
A newspaper article once referred to George Gialamas as the Pied Piper of Madison’s far west side for his role in encouraging development to move west past the Beltline Highway. Today his 30-year-old company embraces its Pied Piper identity once again to lead Madison’s business community in a greener direction.
The Gialamas Company, in partnership with Marshall Erdman & Associates, received LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and recently achieved Energy Star from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the sustainable design of One Erdman Place. The property, owned and managed by The Gialamas Company, became the first non-owner occupied, multi-tenant commercial office building in the state to receive this distinction.
The CEO and president of this premiere real estate development company views LEED certification as a logical step in promoting sustainable building practices within the city of Madison. The progressive company keeps a trained eye on the future to remain on the cutting edge of technology and set building development standards for the city. Partnering with Marshall Erdman simply brought two like-minded companies together for the greater and greener good.
One Erdman Place offers occupants a sustainable site complete with bus stops, bike stalls and maximized green space. A LEED-certified lawn maintenance program utilizes granular fertilizer and captures rainwater for irrigation system use. Waterless urinals, dual-flush toilets and low-flow showerheads improved the facility’s water efficiency by 42 percent while an electronic water descaling system, recommended by Marshall Erdman engineers, provides soft water without a water softener to limit sodium run off into the environment. The facility’s HVAC system exceeds energy efficiency codes by 28 percent.
Achieving this certification, while an exacting, lengthy and costly process, simply quantified the company’s continued commitment to improve its sustainability practices. “Obtaining certification is one thing, living and holding on to the practices to sustain is another,” stresses George Gialamas, who emphasizes that while One Erdman Place marks the company’s first LEED certification, there will be more.
“It is expensive but we’re taking the steps,” says Tom Gialamas. “My father took the initiative and developed the west side, now we’re taking it a step further and investing in LEED certification.”
Leading the way
Sustainability aside, the company carries a long history of setting the path for other businesses to follow. George Gialamas recalls driving around the city looking for suitable sites to relocate growing information technology companies and expanding the search beyond downtown. “I saw the need for a good office park setting if we were going to retain corporate citizens within the city limits,” he explains. “There really wasn’t a set aside area where everything was focused around offices and research facilities.”
The Old Sauk Trails Park project, begun in 1984, quickly became the company’s crowning achievement. Today, the office park offers more than 60 buildings, housing more than 250 companies in approximately three million square feet. In addition to being home to more than 12,500 employees, the site generates upwards of $350 million in tax revenue for the city of Madison.
Clearly the city and its corporate citizens benefit from this office park, which still has 60 available acres for development, but Tom is quick to add his father never used city TIF Funds for the development. George — and the bank, George stresses — invested capital and hard work into the project, first convincing businesses to move west then paying to install infrastructure such as sewer, water, sidewalks, roads and jogging trails for their facilities.
Today the Old Sauk Trails business park offers more office space than all of downtown, excluding government, according to George. “That’s good economic development,” he adds. “It’s kept business here within the city of Madison and Dane County.”
The framework for sustainability
Old Sauk Trails Park also became the framework for greener development within the city. “The truth is the new green initiative that’s out there is nothing new to this company,” George says.
He and his wife Candy have long considered themselves environmental stewards and this mindset spilled over to the Old Sauk Trails project. The Gialamas Company and the Old Sauk Trails Park Architectural Review Board established green covenants for the park early on, agreeing buildings could not exceed 30 percent of the lot area, and that native plantings, bio-retention ponds and a central park would be part of the development.
“These things exceeded the city’s regulations and requirements at the time,” says Andy Van Haren, construction and facilities manager for The Gialamas Company. He adds the organization built rain gardens, offered green space and other sustainable practices in the park from the get-go and points out these practices led them to seek out other means of becoming more energy efficient within the buildings themselves.
For instance, cheap electricity rates in the 1980s caused many developers to opt in favor of electric baseboard heat, despite its inefficiencies. The Gialamas Company, on the other hand, utilized gas and hot water heat in its buildings because of its enhanced energy efficiency. “We weren’t saving any money per se, but we were using resources more efficiently,” Van Haren says. “And when electrical costs went through the roof, our tenants were not in a building where their utility costs skyrocketed 60 percent.”
In 1997, the company also installed energy recovery units at Sauk Trails Plaza with little history on the potential payback for these systems, which collect all heated/cooled air, pass it through an energy recovery wheel and recirculate clean air throughout the facility. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRE) standard calls for 7 cubic feet per minute (cfm) of fresh air per building occupant; the heat exchangers used by The Gialamas Company provide nearly three times that amount. Besides offering occupants a cleaner and more comfortable facility, the systems recover 66 percent of the energy that would otherwise have been dumped outside. These systems paid for themselves within three years, and today the company installs air exchanger units in every development.
The company maintains its progressive research and development to continually move facilities toward greater sustainability, which ties directly into the philosophy described in its motto: “Partners in Your Success.” The company develops, owns and manages its nearly two-dozen properties itself and employs a facilities department with more than 70 years of combined experience in order to quickly respond to tenant needs. Moving toward greater sustainability fits this mission by saving tenants’ energy costs. “It’s a capital investment you make as an owner that you don’t see a return on, other than you have happier tenants, more productive employees and you’re saving energy,” George says.
This real estate development company views the landlord-tenant relationship as a marriage, with plenty of give and take, and extends its commitment to Madison businesses by building facilities to stand the test of time.
“We’re in it for the long haul,” says George, who states this justifies the extra expense of obtaining LEED certification in a troubled economy. “We’re not here to build them, sell them and move on. We hold onto all of our projects.”
Positioned for the future
The Gialamas Company moves into a new chapter as George’s sons, Tom and Aris, say their plans are simple: To protect the assets of the company, continue growth and maintain the high standards set by their parents.
“Because of the base our parents put together we have a strong foundation,” says Aris Gialamas. “We do it right the first time because The Gialamas Company remains poised to stand the test of time.”
One of the primary drivers is the company’s strong commitment to the greater Madison business community.
“We’re known for a quality product that’s maintained well,” George says. “It’s like a fine glass of wine. People keep coming back for more. We’re going to keep building the highest quality development.”
For those companies choosing Madison as a base to do business, The Gialamas Company promises to continue offering a more sustainable and greener way to do so today and well into the future.