Ground broken for new energy site

Major construction for Hoosier Energy’s new headquarters on the south side of Bloomington began this week after breaking ground Aug. 13.

Hoosier Energy is a Bloomington-based generation and transmission cooperative servicing a 15,000 square-mile area of central and southern Indiana, and 11 southeastern Illinois counties.

Their new headquarters will be northeast of the intersection of Tapp Road and State Road 37. The $27 million, 83,000 square-foot building will house approximately 115 employees who currently work in several offices throughout the county. Hoosier Energy headquarters are currently at 7398 N. State Road 37 in Monroe County.

“We’ve been in our location for several decades,” Communications Manager Chris Tryba said. “This is an opportunity to bring all the employees together, improve work efficiency and better meet company needs.”

Occupancy of the building is scheduled for December 2014, Tryba said. F.A. Wilhelm Construction, an Indianapolis-based company, is the general contractor on the project, and Schmidt Associates is the architectural firm.

The construction project received permission for tax abatement, an exemption from paying taxes over an extended period, from the Bloomington Economic Development Commission earlier this year.

The new building will also receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. In order to receive LEED certification, a building must meet certain sustainability criteria such as water, heating and cooling efficiency. There are four levels of LEED classifications, starting with certified and increasing to silver, gold and platinum.

“We’re an energy company,” Tryba said. “We feel it is a corporate responsibility to be in a building that is more energy efficient.”

Jacqui Bauer, sustainability coordinator for the City of Bloomington, said LEED certification is a growing trend, not only in Bloomington, but across the country.

“In a way it’s a marketing tool,” Bauer said.  “It allows people to say ‘sustainability is important to us.’”

The program works especially well for new construction, like Hoosier Energy’s headquarters, she said, though it does require planning ahead.

While the environmentally conscious materials may be more expensive in the beginning, Tryba said it will be worth the investment.

“We’ll be using LED lighting, that equipment by its nature is more expensive,” he said. “Sometimes there are additional costs, but from our perspective, it’s the right thing to do.”

Tryba also said the Bloomington community has been supportive of the new construction, mentioning the presence of Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann, Rep. Todd Young, R-9th District and Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan at the groundbreaking ceremony last week.

Bauer said from both an economic and sustainability perspective, the company’s new headquarters will be an asset to the Bloomington community.

“We think it was a great thing to have them move into Bloomington,” she said. “That’s exactly the kind of thing we want to see.”

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