Renovation and Remodeling…Smart Alternatives to Building

Location, location and location remain the three most important factors in valuing real estate. As suburban sprawl continues its creep across the landscape, a glut of existing office space combined with lack of conveniently located undeveloped land make renovation of existing office buildings a desirable option.

While appearance and setting are important, function is overriding. A building must work for the people within it and blend gracefully into its surroundings.

Technology demands have rendered buildings once thought to have a lifecycle of 50, 75, or 100 years functionally obsolete in less than a decade. Increasing numbers of computers, servers, networks, and peripherals strain power capacity, cable pathways, and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.

Even buildings with a solid infrastructure often require refitting and updating to maintain their value. Corporate downsizing and an increasingly mobile and transient workforce have created a demand for flexible office space.

An early 1990s study by the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) found that the average office size declined almost 10 percent in less than five years. Office space and building power, telephone and lighting grids must be refitted to accommodate frequent reconfiguration.

Expert renovation yields four key advantages over new construction: improved timing, value, flexibility and environmental impact:

• Many empty or under-utilized buildings can be refitted in a fraction of the time required for demolition and rebuilding on the same property.
• Renovating and remodeling a structurally sound building increases its value and useful life, often for much less than it would cost to construct a new building of comparable quality.
• An architect experienced in office renovation can transform old-fashioned floor plans into attractive modern space. In addition, a skilled contractor can carry out renovations in stages, minimizing disruption to existing workers or tenants.
  
• By repairing and upgrading, rather than demolishing and disposing, renovation also benefits the environment. Techniques such as hand demolition and material recycling conserve building resources and reduce landfill waste.

UUNet Data Center
This upgrade of an existing data center included the addition of a one-megawatt generator, upgrade of the UPS system, revisions to the existing power distribution and an increase in the HVAC system to support the addition of more computer capacity.

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