Lori Eichel of Accent Construction Moderates Green Building Panel

June 18, 2009 - PRLog -- CHAPEL HILL, NC – Accent Construction (www.accentllc.com), a Triangle-based full service commercial general contractor, announced that President Lori Eichel was selected to moderate a panel of green building experts at a recent Triangle Commercial Real Estate Women (Triangle CREW) (www.tcrew.org) event. The panel of experts included members of the essential team on a green project – the owner/developer, the architect, the contractor and the facility manager.

Panelists participating in the June 3rd Green to Gold – in Green Building discussion included recognized leaders with significant experience in green design and building initiatives. Eichel challenged the panel to make “green” something more than a trendy adjective, asking panelists to share what coming green trends they could foresee and how commercial real estate professionals could prepare for them. Significant points that the panelists made included:

•   Energy costs are on the rise
•   There are many more existing buildings than new buildings
•   Opportunity lies in energy upgrades to existing buildings
•   The use of energy modeling studies can provide guidance to the right energy upgrades
•   Commercial real estate owners that plan for this change now will be ahead of the curve when energy prices soar in the future

The most lively segment among all panelists revolved around the increasing importance of Green Leases, which incentivize tenants to reduce consumption of energy, water and materials, produce less waste, recycle as much as possible, and choose energy efficient and environmentally friendly products, furnishings and office equipment.

Panelists at the meeting included:
•   Gregg Sandreuter, President of Hamilton Merritt, Inc.
•   Jim Smith, AIA LEED AP, Vice President of Hager Smith Design
•   Shelly McPhatter, President of Bridgepoint Construction Services
•   Myron Taschuk, LEED AP, Construction Project Manager in the Facilities Management Department at Duke University

“The Triangle CREW audience was interested in hearing the panelists’ thoughts on where they saw the commercial real estate industry going with regard to green building,” said Eichel. “It was an honor to be chosen to moderate this panel of respected experts and everyone in attendance gained valuable information.”

About Accent Construction
Accent Construction is a full service commercial general contractor focused on providing environmentally-friendly tenant finish for office buildings and medical facilities. Recipients of several awards, including the 2009 Trendsetter Award from Triangle Commercial Real Estate Women and the 2008 WasteWise Small Business Partner of the Year award from the Environmental Protection Agency, their expertise in reuse/recycle efforts affords clients cost effective and innovative construction solutions. Visit http://www.accentllc.com for more information.

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