Sustainability Assessment of the Town & Country Center

June 2011

From the introduction to the Report:


The Palm Springs Preservation Foundation recently asked Ecotype Consulting to prepare this report to analyze the sustainability of preserving and reusing the historic Town and Country Center (T&CC), located at 174 North Palm Canyon Drive. I was honored to perform the work, and truly enjoyed getting familiar with a hidden Palm Springs landmark t...

From the introduction to the Report:


The Palm Springs Preservation Foundation recently asked Ecotype Consulting to prepare this report to analyze the sustainability of preserving and reusing the historic Town and Country Center (T&CC), located at 174 North Palm Canyon Drive. I was honored to perform the work, and truly enjoyed getting familiar with a hidden Palm Springs landmark that I had been previously unaware of.

The concept of sustainability has become politically abused and somewhat diluted through poor marketing. In this study, I attempt to clarify its meaning, so that the reader can better understand its relevance to the T&CC. Sustainability (or, more commonly, “greenness”) is not an absolute condition; it can only be assessed in a comparative manner against an alternative. In other words, it is impossible to declare that a project is sustainable or not sustainable; we can only assess a project relative to something else, such as the well-known LEED rating system or another project alternative. In the case of the Town and Country Center, the obvious alternative project is the plan that threatens its demolition, the Wessman Development Concept Plan.

Although sustainability is generally considered to be the nexus between ecological, economic, and cultural concerns, it is beyond the scope of this study to compare the economic and cultural aspects of the T&CC and its alternative. The cultural relevance of the T&CC has been addressed in numerous documents and publications, most recently in the Historic Site Nomination for The Center, prepared by the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation in April 2009. The economic relevance of the T&CC has presumably been investigated by Wessman Development and the Palm Springs Community and Economic Development Department. This document is intended to serve as a counterpart, rather than a counterpoint, to those analyses, in order to provide City decision-makers and private investors with a comprehensive picture of the relative sustainability of the project.

In regards to ecological sustainability, this study will clearly demonstrate that preservation of the Town and Country Center is the superior choice by the metrics and/or principles of embodied energy conservation, the LEED rating system, transportation planning, and the City’s own established goals for sustainability. It is my sincere hope that these results will be considered and given the same weight as the economic and cultural considerations for whichever project is ultimately implemented.

Eric R. Shamp, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP
Principal, Ecotype Consulting
June 2011

You can download the whole report here: http://www.pspreservationfoundation.org/tcc.html

Or, download it from the Documents section of this site.

CUC Administrative Campus

Completion anticipated mid-2011

Client: Claremont University Consortium
Location: Claremont, CA
Architect: LTL Architects
Certification: LEED Silver goal

Project is a reuse of an existing Operations and Maintenance facility serving the Claremont Colleges. Ecotype is providing energy modeling, whole building life cycle cost analysis, LEED documentation, green specifications, and design consultation.

California State University Program for Environmental Responsibility (PER)

Completed September 2009

Client: CSU Chancellor’s Office
Capital Planning, Design, and Construction

Coordinated with representation across the CSU system to develop a green building program that exceeds LEED in fundamental areas including integrated design, maintainability, durability, universal access, and regional air quality. Developed verification templates “wrapped” around LEED requirements t...

Client: CSU Chancellor’s Office
Capital Planning, Design, and Construction

Coordinated with representation across the CSU system to develop a green building program that exceeds LEED in fundamental areas including integrated design, maintainability, durability, universal access, and regional air quality. Developed verification templates “wrapped” around LEED requirements that simultaneously tracks PER compliance alongside LEED “equivalence”. Provided training for CSU campus representatives.

Frontier Project

Completed in November 2009

Client: Cucamonga Valley Water District
Location: Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Architect: HMC Architects
Certification: LEED Platinum

Coordinated energy modeling, daylight modeling, and CFD analysis for use in design decision making. Assisted in establishing partnerships with public and private organizations to pursue funding and donated or discounted materials. Facilitated gree...

Client: Cucamonga Valley Water District
Location: Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Architect: HMC Architects
Certification: LEED Platinum

Coordinated energy modeling, daylight modeling, and CFD analysis for use in design decision making. Assisted in establishing partnerships with public and private organizations to pursue funding and donated or discounted materials. Facilitated green building charrette and developed Design Intent document.

UC San Diego Jacobs Medical Center: a new centerpiece for the UCSD Medical Center

Completion anticipated 2017

Client: UC San Diego
Location: La Jolla, CA
Architect: Yazdani Studio, Cannon Design
Certification: LEED Silver goal

This project will be among the first LEED 2009 certified hospitals in the US. It includes innovative daylighting strategies that bring views, daylight, and connections to nature into patient rooms, surgical suites, and nurses’ stations. Ecotype fa...

Client: UC San Diego
Location: La Jolla, CA
Architect: Yazdani Studio, Cannon Design
Certification: LEED Silver goal

This project will be among the first LEED 2009 certified hospitals in the US. It includes innovative daylighting strategies that bring views, daylight, and connections to nature into patient rooms, surgical suites, and nurses’ stations. Ecotype facilitated green building goal-setting charettes, and is providing peer review and management of the LEED certification process. The project includes two separate LEED projects: a hospital bed tower and a center plant facility.

Swan Hall: a renovation and addition to a historic building on the Occidental College campus

Completion anticipated 2012

Client: Occidental College
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Architect: Brian R. Bloom - Architect
Certification: LEED Silver goal

Project is a complete rehabilitation of a historically designated 1914 Myron Hunt building for seismic and accessibility, plus a new addition tripling the size of the original. Barack Obama once walked the halls of this building as an undergraduate a...

Client: Occidental College
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Architect: Brian R. Bloom - Architect
Certification: LEED Silver goal

Project is a complete rehabilitation of a historically designated 1914 Myron Hunt building for seismic and accessibility, plus a new addition tripling the size of the original. Barack Obama once walked the halls of this building as an undergraduate at Oxy. Ecotype is providing green building design consulting, energy modeling and analysis, and LEED certification management. In addition, we are providing the campus with a Comprehensive Transportation Management Plan and an Open Space Management Plan for application to this and future LEED projects.

Transitional Assistance Department (TAD) Services Building

Completed May 2008

Client: Waterman Holdings, LLC
Location: San Bernardino, CA
Certification: LEED Silver

Project is an office and client service center for the County’s Transitional Assistance Department, charged with administering support programs for persons in need of financial, nutritional, or medical assistance. This was among the first LEED certified projects under the County’s green ...

Client: Waterman Holdings, LLC
Location: San Bernardino, CA
Certification: LEED Silver

Project is an office and client service center for the County’s Transitional Assistance Department, charged with administering support programs for persons in need of financial, nutritional, or medical assistance. This was among the first LEED certified projects under the County’s green building mandate. This project demonstrated that LEED certification, excellent life-cycle cost payback, and a healthy indoor environment are possible within a constrained budget.