Green Destiny

Robert J. Congel has a vision for the Onondaga lakefront area in Syracuse that has involved significant brownfield remediation and is now moving into what could be one of the largest green building efforts ever undertaken.

The Destiny USA retail and entertainment project spreads out across 150 acres, much of which formerly hosted more than 50 oil tanks and a scrap recycling facility.

In Congel’s mind, this acreage was a less-than-welcoming gateway area for both daily commuters and many first-time visitors to Syracuse, and the possibilities for redevelopment were abundant.

And while investing in development that will pay off has certainly been a foremost goal, from the start Congel has also distinguished the Destiny USA project with a commitment to green building practices that has proven to be ahead of its time.

At the Syracuse job site, key team members such as David Aitken and Director of Sustainability Melissa Perry ensure that the project stays on a path intended to make it a showpiece of how brownfield redevelopment can be accomplished before then yielding to green building practices.

When describing how the Destiny USA Onondaga lakefront area looked in the mid-1980s, Aitken uses the term "industrial slum."

It took patience and determination on both sides of the negotiating table for the oil companies and the scrap recycler to agree to buyouts and relocation scenarios. "Several of the companies moved about 15 minutes to the west, and the overall legal maneuvering lasted from 1993 to 2007 for all the property to be assembled," says Aitken.

The first phase of what will become Destiny USA has been open since 1990. Carousel Center is a retail complex that, according to Aitken, attracts some 17 million visitors each year.

Aitken says that while land redevelopment has always been a priority, Congel became more attuned to the importance of green building after he visited military cemeteries in Normandy and following the attacks of September 11. "He really had a sense that we needed to control our own destiny in terms of power generation, rather than relying on imported fossil fuels," says Aitken.

Project managers and Congel himself began exploring green building and the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) system, eventually aiming for LEED Platinum status for the Destiny USA project.

"Two of the largest factors driving the green initiatives of Destiny USA are Bob’s desire to be 100 percent fossil fuel-free and his desire to attain LEED Platinum certification," says Director of Sustainability Melissa Perry.

In both of these endeavors, Congel has probably been ahead of many of his peers, says Aitken. "Bob is normally a few years ahead of trends," he remarks, adding that what many considered a far-fetched idea in 2002 is now much better appreciated, especially in light of 2008 energy prices.

Striving for LEED Platinum status on a project involving hundreds of millions of dollars has involved working closely with construction manager Cianbro Corp., Pittsfield, Maine, and other construction partners to exert organizational effort and undertake considerable research.

Among the green building priorities has been recycling the construction and demolition scrap generated at the Destiny USA job site.

"The average construction job might recycle 40 percent of its materials," says Perry. "We have committed to divert from landfills and recycle 95 percent."

"There are a number of what I would call owner mandates and owner requests," says Aitken. "Some of the construction partners we have been working with can be a little shy at first to some of these ideas. But they go through an awareness phase, and then they ultimately become some of the best advocates for these policies," he comments.

"The initial reaction to heading down this path was not always immediate enthusiasm," says Perry. "These aren’t always common contract terms. It took a lot of communication and we created a manual that helped explain the LEED standards," she continues.
"Now we have our construction partners coming to us with opinions and advice on LEED or recycling—it has totally turned around."

Among the recycling-related aspects of the project that Perry singles out is a victory on the plastics front. "One of the more difficult things to recycle is PVC piping, but we found someone who makes it into shipping pellets," she notes.

Concrete is crushed and used as backfill, helping recycle the largest percentage of the more than 6,000 tons of materials that have been recycled.

In terms of recycled content in building materials, contractors involved with Destiny USA have been specifying the use of 30 percent fly ash (residual material produced by coal-fueled power plants) in all the concrete it has purchased. "That is preventing thousands of tons of material from going to the landfill," says Perry.

Beyond the recycling aspects of the project, Destiny USA is breaking plenty of new ground in its energy purchasing and building specifications.

Since it received $540 million in financing in 2007 to kick off its current construction phase, a growing fleet of some 100 pieces of heavy equipment are at work at the Destiny USA site. How does that fit in with Congel’s pledge to avoid being dependent on fossil fuels?

"In April 2007, we started using biodiesel fuel in every piece of equipment on site," says Perry. "By June, we were up to a 100 percent soybean oil blend. Today we have used more than 200,000 gallons of bio-fuel, more than half of which has been a B-100 blend."

Getting there was not simple, she notes. "It took quite a bit of discussion between engine manufacturers, equipment dealers, contractors and subcontractors," says Perry. "We had to hold several collaborative meetings."

Perry and Congel are optimistic that the work has not only helped Destiny USA live up to a commitment, but that what has been learned can be adopted by others.

Even on its own, the change in methodology has been noteworthy, says Perry. "This is one of the largest projects in the country with more than 100 pieces of equipment on site," she comments. "Its impact is quite significant in reducing emissions."

And on the job site, the smell of diesel fumes has been replaced by an aroma largely considered more pleasant. "One of the greatest health benefits has been to the operators of the equipment—and it’s been pleasant for them since it smells more like fried food instead of normal emissions."

The alternative energy aspects of Destiny USA go well beyond the earth-moving equipment fleet.

The design and construction of the buildings (and to some extent, retrofitting the Carousel Center portion that was constructed in 1990) has involved research into a variety of energy sources and methods, and considerable investments in alternative energy technologies.

One of the most visible investments will be a system of solar roof panels designed to generate 3.2 megawatts of solar power. "It happens to be the largest roof-mounted solar panel system in North America," says Aitken, adding that there is one in Germany that is larger.

Biomass fuel is also scheduled to be part of the picture. "A biomass facility that is being modeled can produce 15 megawatts of power," says Perry. "The feedstock will be engineered fuel pellets made from trash, essentially, supplemented with some woody biomass as well."

The goal, say the project’s leaders, is not to have these systems operating quietly behind the scenes, but to let them serve as part of the attraction at Destiny USA.

"All of this is under the umbrella of creating a demonstration project or a showcase initiative," says Aitken. "Attracting some 17 million visitors each year provides an opportunity. Bob Congel views this as a mandate to us—don’t just do things that are helpful to the environment, but make sure we are teaching along the way."

Aitken concludes, "I like to say that what we’re doing is important because it provides meaningful effects in terms of employment and bringing visitors to the area, certainly. And how we’re doing it and where we’re doing it (on a brownfield site in the central city) is also important. There is a green environment that is growing quite well here in Syracuse and in the state of New York." C&DR