Spanning 95,300 square feet, the renovation was led by Edwin Brantley Smith & Associates, Inc. GDT’s new Customer Support Center is situated on six acres and includes 65,300 square feet renovated space and 30,000 square feet newly built warehouse and staging facility. The building is created as an advanced “working laboratory” for GDT’s routing, switching, communications, and security solutions business from the shell of a 50-year-old food processing and light manufacturing plant. It also features an indoor gymnasium, workout room, and theater.
The building is an “intelligent,” environmentally aware facility that showcases advanced technology. The renovation involved addition of a 100KW electricity generating photovoltaic system on the roof, which generates on-site renewable energy. It is one of the largest private, commercial solar implementations in Texas and can be monitored in real-time for the amount of power used versus generated.
A 30,000 gallon rainwater collection system has been employed that stores the rainwater to irrigate the property’s native plant landscape. It can also be monitored online for water pressure and flow rates. The building reused more than 79% of the original building materials, recycled more than 50% of construction waste, and sourced more than 20% of the building materials locally.
The indoor environmental quality was enhanced through low-emitting materials, chemical pollutant control, natural sunlight in 95% of occupied spaces, and smart thermostats and lighting controls.
The 18-month renovation project began in August 2009. The building has also won various awards including the Stemmons Corridor Business Association’s 2011 Award for Best Adaptive Re-Use of an Existing Building. GDT is expecting to receive LEED Gold certification for the building by September 2011.
