Stuart contractor hopes to put employees to work on green offices

By Eve Samples

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Sunday, March 08, 2009

A local contractor is making plans to build an eco-friendly office building atop a former dump in Stuart.  Ocean Gate General Contractors is finalizing negotiations to lease about 3 acres of the old city landfill property on Monterey Road, the site of the out-of-business Monterey Pointe Golf and Practice Center. 

The Stuart-based company hopes to build a 20,000-square-foot, gold-rated LEED building at the site, incorporating energy-saving features to earn the designation from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, company President Mark MacDonald said.

Ocean Gate's 30 or so employees would occupy one-third of the building, and MacDonald would lease out the remainder.

Despite the glut of office space on the Treasure Coast, he sees a market for green business space.

"We'll be the only thing on the Treasure Coast that's LEED certified at the gold level," he said.

MacDonald expects to invest about $2 million in the building, which still must receive approval from the city of Stuart. The 45-year lease from the city would run $40,000 a year. MacDonald hopes to complete the building within two years.

So why now, in this economy?

MacDonald said business at his firm is off about 10 percent compared with a year ago. He sees the downturn as a chance to regroup and educate his workers on green building techniques.

"Costs of construction are 20 percent less than they were two years ago," MacDonald said. "It's a good time to build."