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Community First Credit Union to Build First Net Zero Energy Commercial Building in Florida.

Article Excerpt
Sustainable Branch Design Aims for LEED GOLD Certification

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Community First Credit Union is building a new state-of-the-art, full service branch. The new branch is located in South Lakeland on the corner of 540A and Carter Road.

Instead of purchasing raw land, the Credit Union made its first sustainable decision by selecting a previously developed site. The new 4,151 square foot branch is designed to wrap around an existing Bruster's Ice Cream Shoppe (which will remain open during construction), increasing the area's development density while minimizing changes to infrastructure and local traffic patterns. A traffic study proved that each business's peak hours of operation were antonymic to the other. The credit union is open until 5:30 pm during the weekdays and Saturday mornings, and the ice cream shop thrives in the evenings and on weekends. Preserving the existing building can not only be seen as diverting 100% of its materials from disposal in landfills through building reuse, but more importantly maintaining current jobs for its employees and a service to local residents. The cohesive design also passively reduces energy required for both structures' cooling loads by reducing the total amount of exterior walls that are subject to the central Florida climate; therefore each building will be more efficient than if they...