LightsON! West Virginia Gives New, Green Life to Oak Hill Building

By CATHY BONNSTETTER
For The State Journal
July 18, 2008
(Reprinted with permission)

OAK HILL — LightsON! West Virginia, a real estate company whose mission is to revitalize old buildings, recently renovated the Bellann Building, a circa 1930s brownstone in the heart of downtown, with an environmentally friendly green build.

“It is important for us as individuals and organizations to act in an energy efficient manner and to do more work using less,” said Brandon Holmes, LightsON! West Virginia’s managing partner. “We can minimize our impact and in the long run, save money.”

Holmes, and his business partner, George Rogers, both Fayetteville residents, were looking for a facility to house their other businesses, Weld Creative, Elite Swiftwater Institute and Elite Distance Learning. That searched evolved into LightsON! West Virginia. Through LightsON!, they purchased the Bellann in 2006.

Working with architects at McKinley and Associates from Charleston, which is U. S. Green Building Counsel’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified, they replaced the roof with a new white, reflective one and incorporated environmentally friendly wastewater processes throughout the building.

“We tried to maintain the integrity of the building by minimizing the amount of material removed,” Holmes said. “We recycled all the metal and used the original hardwood flooring.”

Holmes and Rogers purchased West Virginia-made materials whenever it was possible. The carpeting in the rear suites is made from 100 percent recycled plastic soda bottles. The LEED certified ceiling tiles are made from 85 percent recycled materials.

By using what was already in the building they reduced their landfill waste by at least 50 percent.

To become LEED certified, a building must meet certain standards for cleaning and maintenance, systems upgrades and recycling programs, according to the USGBC Web site.

“The building has day lighting all the way around it,” Holmes said. “The irony is that with LightsON’s first project, we do not turn the lights on to do business.”

LightsON! secured funding through the Natural Capital Investment Fund, or NCIF, a community development financial institution that focuses on both development and conservation. NCIF executive director Marten Jenkins says he knew that LightsON’s plans for the Bellann were a perfect fit for the fund and the city.

“It interested us because it is a private sector project in a non-urban area of the state,” Jenkins said. “That’s what LightsON! is all about. If you can do this in Oak Hill, you can do this anyplace.”

Because of the ambitious renovation, the Bellann may eventually be the only LEED-certified building in the private sector in the state, according to Jenkins. The companies will have to use the building for a year and collect data for it to be LEED certified.

The 10,000-square-foot Bellann, which stood vacant for 15 years, is an environmental and economic success. In addition to Rogers’ and Holmes’ three companies, the building is home to tenants who originally moved from all over the country to Charleston. Those companies later migrated to Oak Hill.

The companies include Earthmark, an environmental mitigation firm from Ft. Myers, Fla; The National Parks Conservation Association from Washington, D.C. and Drive Current, a Web application developer for the vehicle transport industry out of San Diego. Blessings Consignment, a tenant at the Bellann for 10 years, is still there.

“We still have 1,900 square feet of retail space available, but the upstairs offices are going fast,” Holmes said.

Tenants at the Bellann follow environmentally friendly rules outlined in their leases.

“Quality of place issues and connectivity to the web are changing the business landscape in an unprecedented way,” Holmes said. “Building by building, tenant by tenant and most importantly, internet connection by internet connection, we can make progress and recruit people who want to live in a spectacular place like the New River Gorge. We are recruiting the newest generation of West Virginians.”