May 2008

First LEED® Certified Industrial Park in NYS Moriches Industrial Park
Story by Emily Andren

Construction is progressing on the Moriches Industrial Park, which will be the first LEED® certified industrial park in New York State. The 10-acre project, with seven buildings totaling 78,000 square feet, will have lower energy consumption, landfill waste, transportation costs due to lighter-weight building materials, and water usage than a typical project of this size. The complex will open by the end of summer 2008.

    Vince Trapani, president of USA Industries in Bay Shore, bought the land in 2006 for $1.6 million. He and his co-developers, Minas Michaelian, whose firm manages senior citizen housing complexes, and Charlie Rogers, president of Lindenhurst Fabricators, are experienced in building large projects.

    "The cost of going green is a reality," Trapani comments. Of the $7 million total cost, $1.2 million were green expenses. But, he adds, "the bottom line is that green makes economic sense, especially considering the price of fuel. The tenants will have 60% energy savings per year."

    The complex is being built on Frowein Road in East Moriches where nothing existed previously and is not adjacent to residential areas. The first tenant will be a solar panel company, and Trapani hopes to have more tenants that sell green construction products, "a sort of Home Depot for the green building industry." The Park will also create 200 new jobs, three people for every 1,000 square feet, adding to the tax base. "The town is very serious about creating jobs and keeping young people here,"he adds.

    "The Town's partnership with Vincent Trapani and his associates at Moriches Industrial Park puts Brookhaven on the map for yet another first," says Town Supervisor Brian X. Foley. "Because not only is this project the first green industrial park in New York State, it is also a source of scores of new construction jobs, plus additional opportunities for employment when the park is completed. We see this as a triple-plus project: jobs, more jobs, and a healthier environment,"he adds.

    The buildings will be constructed using concrete structural insulated panels (SIPs), a new technology, a first for industrial parks. Concrete SIPs have a Styrofoam core of reclaimed material between steel rebars with concrete surfaces. Trapani explains, "Imagine a hose spraying concrete over the rebars and styrofoam on both sides to seal the outside surfaces."SIPs have strong insulation properties and keep the buildings free of mold and termites.

    Trapani has high praise for Foley and the Division of Economic Development and Brookhaven Town Councilman, Keith Romaine. "When we originally looked at developing in the Town of Brookhaven in the summer of 2007, we did research and had guidance programs from the Town," Trapani says. "When the government stands behind you with its fast-track programs, the project takes half the time. The Town looked at the project with us and worked with us a team, enabling us to get an earlier return on our investment and pay taxes sooner to schools in the area."School taxes will be paid by the developers out of revenue from the tenants.

    Ray Donnelly, director of Brookhaven's Division of Economic Development, says, "They came to us with a concept and we embraced it. We put our shoulders to the wheel to make sure that all necessary plans, applications and permits were filed, reviewed and approved on a timely basis. This project is a perfect example of our motto, "A rising tide lifts all boats,"where all stakeholders will benefit."

    The Park has accumulated enough points for LEED® Certification, according to Peter Baumart, president of St. James-based Energy Efficient Solutions, the East Coast supplier of wood and concrete SIPs which also designs and builds shells. "We are looking at a Silver or Gold LEED® rating, which will be determined by additional points from our geothermal heating and cooling system and renewable energy plans, depending on the amount of energy consumed by lighting and generated by solar panels and vertical wind-driven generators," he says. Each building will have its own LEED® rating.

    Baumert built his own 3,100 square-foot house in St. James using energy-efficient building products. It was built with wood SIP walls, roof and floors. "Our utility bills are only $75 a month for heating, hot water, a cook top and dryer which all run natural gas," says Baumert. "The home also uses heat recovery ventilation with High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtering, which exchanges air constantly, creating a healthy environment,"he adds.