Darden Headquarters Earns LEED Gold Certification Orlando Project Highlights Hardin Construction's Green Leadership

ATLANTA - Another Hardin Construction Company project has earned certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for New Construction.
The new corporate headquarters building for Darden Restaurants, in Orlando, Florida, was recently awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
The 469,000-square-foot Darden facility is the largest LEED Gold (new construction) building in Florida.The project exceeded the threshold for Gold certification by two points.
USGBC is the nation's leading evaluator of environmentally sustainable buildings. LEED is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. USGBC LEED certification levels are Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
Darden's headquarters, which opened last September, is among 20 Hardin-built projects that have achieved or are pursuing LEED certification. Nearly 30 percent of Hardin's operations staff members are LEED Accredited Professionals.
"Hardin Construction Company shares Darden Restaurants' commitment to protecting and enhancing the communities where we do business, and we congratulate Darden for this milestone achievement," said Hardin President Bill Pinto. "Hardin is honored to have been selected for the project and to have played a role in Darden's sustainability efforts."
Hardin Construction is known for its expertise in green building and for obtaining LEED certifications for its clients. Hardin is ranked by Southeast Construction magazine among the top 10 in the southeast in green building. Hardin has also received several Urban Land Institute Development of Excellence Awards. The company's LEED-certified projects include renovation of Hardin's own six-story headquarters building in Atlanta, which is LEED Gold certified, as well as:
• Arthur M. Blank Family Office,the first LEED Gold certified building in Georgia and the first LEED Gold certified office building in the southeast.
• 171 17th Street at Atlantic Stationin Atlanta, the first LEED Silver-Core and Shell certified high-rise building in the world and the first high-rise office building in Georgia to receive any LEED certification.
• Enotah Hall at Young Harris College, a student residence featuring Geothermal heating and cooling, and the first higher educational building in North Georgia to achieve LEED Silver certification.
• Atlanta Botanical Garden Visitor Center and Parking Facility,which achieved LEED Gold certification.
About Hardin Construction
Hardin Construction Company, LLC provides unequalled construction services through its culture of integrity, innovation and opportunity. Hardin is ranked among the nation's top construction companies and is nationally recognized by the industry for its outstanding safety record. A leader in green construction, Hardin has completed nearly 20 LEED certified projects and has more than 45 LEED Accredited Professionals.
Founded in 1946 and privately held, Hardin's services include general construction, construction management, design-build, and renovation for projects of broad scope and complexity. Hardin has headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., and offices in Tampa, Fla., Orlando, Fla., Raleigh, N.C., Austin, Texas and Houston, Texas. For more information, visit www.hardinconstruction.com.
Source:
http://www.1888pressrelease.com/darden-headquarters-earns-leed-gold-certification-orlando-pr-pr-212971.html

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Project Camelot Conf.- George Green An Insiders View of the Big Picture Whats Really Going On?

AN INSIDERS VIEW OF THE BIG PICTURE WHATS REALLY GOING ON, with George Green. George Green's career extends from military service in the USAF (where he encountered alien disk craft in a remote hangar at Edwards AFB), through "playing monopoly" in corporate banking and large-scale construction, to working closely with the Pleiadians and other benevolent intelligences to "wake people up" in preparation for coming changes. Very few people we have talked to have a span of personal experience - and contacts - which is this broad. As George describes, he "used to run around with the big boys". He was asked to build an enemy prisoner-of-war camp in downtown Las Vegas - he refused - and was asked to be Finance Chairman for the Carter campaign, but declined after it became clear to him that the ethics of many of the senior players were heavily compromised. Shortly after he turned down the offer, his loans were called in and he lost many millions of dollars as finance was removed from dozens of major construction projects. Undeterred, George rebuilt his world and is in direct contact with Pleiadian intelligences and other beings. He has devoted his life to spreading the word that all is not as it seems. His very important free e-book, Handbook for the New Paradigm, has been read by millions all over the world. George is a delight to listen to: relaxed, friendly and humorous. He has an extremely serious message: there is very little time left in which to prepare. Telling us that his ...

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Post Construction Clean Up - Post Construction Clean Up Project Types

Post construction clean up? It's the last phase of construction that takes place on a project or "job site", right before the owners take over the property. You might say that construction clean up companies are the last people on the totum pole to be considered during the actual process of construction as they are somewhat belittled to the status of Janitors & Laborers.

However, post construction clean up is a BIG business! There are lots of little "mom and pop" shops all the way up to mid and large sized, well established companies that cover large regions of the US and can handle any type of project all the way from little retail tenant improvements on up to multi-phase commercial developments, affordable housing and federal prevailing wage jobs that cost millions of dollars.

One thing you might want to watch out for when looking into post construction clean up companies is whether or not they offer fair pricing across the board for all types of construction projects. Some clean up companies offer low pricing on small jobs but raise the rates considerably on jobs that are worth more to the General Contractors. This way of doing business is unethical and many companies that operate in this manner tend to get projects at one price but later slam the GC with change orders that screw up accounting.

So what types of projects does post construction clean up fall under?

Here is a list of various project types:

Residential - Homes, Condos, Townhomes Etc.
Apartments, Affordable Housing, Senior Assisted Living
Offices, Office Complexes Etc.
Retail Shells
Retail Tenant Improvements
Shopping Centers
Grocery Stores, Grocery Store Remodels Etc.
Schools, Classrooms, Auditoriums, Theaters, Cinemas
Hospitals, Medical Offices, Medical Clinics, Dental Offices
Restaurants - All Types
Animal Hospitals, Animal Shelters, Clinics Etc.
Vanilla / Cold Shell Buildings
Office Shell Buildings Etc.
Other - Commercial Building
Why is it good to know the exact type of project you need post construction clean up for? Because each project type has various areas and blanket generic requirements for standard cleaning. Other than any additional scope of work which may be requested, each project type has specific requirements known only to knowledgeable and highly experienced construction clean up companies; which helps them to properly and ethically quote your project!

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Home Improvement Construction - Financing the Project

You have finalized the home improvement plan and selected your contractor; all you need now is to finance the project. If you are cash rich you can just finance it yourself paying cash as the project progresses, if not you can get an equity loan from the bank or a residential construction loan to finance your home improvement construction project.

Home improvement construction loans are short term loans that allow you as property owner or the builder to borrow the money needed to remodel your property. Loan terms vary from project to project but what you need to be aware of is construction loans are interest only payments and the rate of interest charged is generally higher than the long term mortgage rates charged. The way it works, once the loan is sanctioned; funds are distributed either to the property owner or builder all through the duration of home improvement construction process in accordance with a predetermined disbursement schedule. Interest is payable only on the amount drawn to date and not on the whole loan amount. Dependent on what has been agreed with the lender; you will be allowed to draw on the funds either in a percentage breakdown example: 10% of the loan on completion of 10% of the home improvement construction project or when a specific part of the project is completed like the foundation or roof, etc. The final amount will be disbursed once the certificate of use and occupancy is issued.

You will be required to submit complete plans and specifications for the home improvement construction project you are setting in motion. Apart from the plans the builder has to provide an all inclusive budget, construction schedule and proof of qualifications to manage the home improvement construction project.

In order to apply for a construction loan you will have to provide a copy of your credit report. All lending institutions like mortgage companies, credit card companies, car dealers, etc. frequently use the information contained in these reports to decide whether you are a credit risk or not. All bad debts appear on your report for a period of 7 years; if your loan application has been rejected at any time due to the credit report, you are entitled to a free credit report copy. You are also entitled to one free copy of the report every year. There are 3 main credit reporting agencies that provide the reports and note that frequently requesting a copy of the report will lower your credit rating!

I would like to close out this article with a few guidelines on selecting the right contractor; it is a well known fact that choosing the wrong contractor means letting yourself in for a nightmare of mammoth proportions!

Ask friends and family for recommendations; ask neighbors who have recently had home improvement construction done on their homes that you have noticed; there are director agencies and the Better Business Bureau you can contact.

Check out the website; do telephone interviews to get a feel for the person. Find out about present work commitments and whether your job is something they are willing to undertake. Then have face to face meetings to decide whether you can work with the person, gauge the attitude and check paperwork (they need to be bonded and insured). Don't just ask for references - check them out. Talk to the sub-contractors as well to find out about their credit worthiness.

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Laos dam project raises concerns - 20 Oct 07

The construction of river dams will be high on the agenda at a World Bank meeting this weekend. Funding of past projects has caused massive environmental and financial controversy, and the latest one in Laos is no different. Hannah Belcher travelled to the remote Nakai Plateau in Southern Laos, to see the latest World Bank dam project attracting concern.



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