Ten Minutes that Changed Clearwater Office Space

September 16, 2009

In 2007, when brothers Steve and Paul Engelhardt of Hallmark Development sat down with Lex Raas, President of TUI Marine, the goal was to close the deal on a standard office building at Offices at Park Place in Clearwater. And, in fact, they were discussing final changes to the lease document when Paul said, “We should consider building TUI Marine as a green project.” Mr. Raas asked about U.S. standards for green building and Paul explained a few LEED Certification requirements. Ten minutes later, Hallmark Development was on its way to changing Pinellas County’s environmental footprint – and the Hallmark business model.

As it happened, TUI Marine, which includes The Moorings and Sunsail brands, had other green locations, including the Tortola yacht basin facility in the British Virgin Islands. It was receptive to the idea of building a LEED property as soon as Paul made the suggestion.

“We came to the realization that TUI’s core business relies on a healthy environment where people can escape from noise, smog, and light pollution. It deserved to have its International Global Headquarters become Pinellas County’s first LEED-Gold-certified new building. TUI practices are naturally aligned with green business,” Paul explained.

“The day we signed the lease contract with TUI Marine, it was clear that both of our organizations aligned philosophically on the importance of green building,” adds Steve Engelhardt. “Fortunately, we already had a third environmentally aware partner that was perfect for the project, our general contractors, The Murray Company.”

The Murray Company, a design/build general contractor specializing in office, industrial, and healthcare projects, welcomed the opportunity to participate in the LEED project.  By expanding its design/build focus to include LEED certification, the company developed unique expertise.

“Our goal was to simplify the project for Hallmark and TUI Marine by providing a single point of contact for design, construction, and all aspects of the LEED certification process.  It was very rewarding to know our work helped not only the client, but also the environment,” says Michael Hartzog, a LEED Accredited Professional with The Murray Company.

The partners collaborated quickly on project requirements and strategies. They knew the LEED requirements were rigorous, but The Murray Company provided a clear understanding of feasibility and costs.  With this information, the team decided to pursue a LEED Gold certification. They registered the project in August 2007 and the building was ready for occupancy less than a year later.

TUI’s new headquarters received official LEED-Gold designation from the US Green Building Council in January of 2009. Hallmark Development and The Murray Company are now completing their second green building on the Park Place site and are planning the third.

 “I believe we’re standing on the cusp of one of the greatest changes in building that our generation has seen. When modern air conditioning was introduced, it quickly became an expected standard.  Developers who were late to the party found themselves with vacant space and had to begin retrofitting to include AC. Green building will cause the same shift in the next few years,” says Steve Engelhardt. 

From this point forward, Hallmark remains committed to green projects.