Neyer Properties president Dan Neyer was among community partners lauded by the American Red Cross Monday at its ribbon-cutting this week for helping the agency develop its $14.4 million regional headquarters at Keystone Parke in Cincinnati.
Brian Keating, board chairman for the Cincinnati American Red Cross, said the agency serves two million people in 25 counties in Ohio, northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana.
“Dan Neyer and Charlie Pond (Neyer Properties building development director) were tireless in their efforts to find a facility for us and in working with the state and city to meet our needs,” said Keating. “It all happened on time and under budget.”
The American Red Cross regional headquarters is more than a new building that houses a caring agency providing emergency services to disaster victims.
It’s also a green, sustainable building that is on target to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) Gold certification.
Green attributes of the three-story, 45,000 square foot building located at Keystone Parke in Cincinnati include: bioswale and rain garden systems to decrease impact on the storm water system and promote natural habitats; use of native landscaping to reduce irrigation; low-flow water fixtures designed to reduce water consumption by 40 percent; high-efficiency glazing and well-insulated wall cavities; LED parking lot lights; sensor lighting and controls to reduce energy use; bike racks and showers to promote eco-friendly transportation; and a green roof. A green roof is a building rooftop covered with plants and soil to minimize the amount of heat the building absorbs in summer and conserve building heat in winter, reducing the need for heating and air conditioning.
The American Red Cross Building is just one of the 11 LEED projects Neyer Properties has brought to fruition since 2002. Green and LEED-certified projects Neyer Properties owns include: company headquarters Keystone Parke; office campuses Kenwood Crossing II and Red Bank Crossing II; Gateway 75, a recently-acquired 1.1 million square foot office, distribution, and bulk warehouse building in Sharonville that could become the Midwest’s largest solar photovoltaic project; and Kenwood Towers, a proposed $100 million Sycamore Township hotel, office and parking garage project adjacent to the FBI’s new $47 million building. The FBI project will be built to LEED Silver standards.
Neyer redeveloped a 167,000 square foot Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Florence, Kentucky, in 2002 that recently earned an Energy Star rating, ranking it in the nation’s top 25 percent of comparable buildings.
“When we first started our search for a location to build a new Red Cross Building and Disaster Operations Center, we had certain requirements,” said Steve Drefahl, chief operating officer for the American Red Cross in Cincinnati. “We had to have flexibility in the space design so we could respond to disasters of all sizes while not having large amounts of space lying dormant for extended periods of time. We needed easy access and enough parking for clients, people taking our various CPR/First Aid or other health and safety courses, volunteers and staff. We wanted to be centrally located to the 25 counties we serve: eleven in Ohio, 10 in Northern Kentucky and four in southwest Indiana. We wanted to stay within the city limits. We wanted to be an energy- efficient and environmentally-sound building. We found all this with Keystone Parke and Neyer Properties.”
Neyer Properties’ commitment to green building and a green office park at Keystone Parke were added benefits to the easy access and high visibility the ARC location offers, he added. “As we built the new facility, the professionalism of the Neyer Properties staff became apparent,” said Drefahl. “The knowledge of their development director, Charlie Pond, on running a major building project was a key element of the Red Cross project coming in under budget and on time without sacrificing quality. We’re looking forward to having additional neighbors join the Keystone Parke development and hopefully they will become part of the Red Cross family as volunteers and supporters of the work we do in helping people and our community prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies.”
“A major connection between Neyer Properties and the Red Cross is our mutual commitment to health, wellness, the community, our residents and workers, and the environment,” said Dan Neyer, Neyer Properties president. “We’re very proud to have them as neighbors.”
Dignitaries from throughout the state attended the event. They included: Mark Mallory, city of Cincinnati mayor; Brian Hodgett, P & G external affairs; Ohio Rep. Denise Driehaus (D- 31st District); Ohio Sens. Eric Kearney (D-9th District) and Bill Seitz (R-8th District); Anzora Adkins, president of the Evanston Community Council; U.S. Reps. Steve Driehaus (D-1st District) and Jean Schmidt (R-2nd District); Nan Cahall, representing U.S. Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio); Joe Becker, senior vice president for American Red Cross national disaster services; Brewster Rhoads, regional director for southwest Ohio for Gov. Ted Strickland; Sara Peller, CEO for the American Red Cross Cincinnati Region; Dick Finan, former president of the Ohio Senate; and Ohio Rep. Bill Coley (R-55th District).
Neyer Properties has committed to making all its future office buildings LEED-certified. Its Keystone Parke corporate office and headquarters is the tri-state’s first green office campus, and all of Neyer Properties’ development management are LEED-accredited professionals. Keystone Parke has achieved LEED Silver for its exterior core and shell, and LEED Gold for its corporate office space.
Neyer Properties is a full-service commercial real estate developer specializing in sustainable development, construction management, investment, and redevelopment.
The firm celebrates its 15th anniversary this year and invites friends and stakeholders to visit its newly-designed Web site at www.neyer1.com.
To connect with Neyer Properties and its green building initiatives, go to facebook.com/neyerproperties and neyerproperties.blogspot.com. Breaking news for Neyer Properties is available at twitter.com/neyerproperties.