COLD SPRING, MN -- Cold Spring Granite Co., a leading quarrier and fabricator of natural stone in North America, has announced that its new 22,500-square-foot corporate headquarters received LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the USGBC's leading rating system for designing and constructing the world's greenest, most energy efficient and high-performing buildings.

"As a leader in our industry, Cold Spring Granite is always committed to going beyond the standard, just as we did in deciding to pursue LEED Gold certification," said John Mattke, President and Chief Operating Officer of Cold Spring Granite. "LEED certification goes hand-in-hand with our mission of being a strong corporate citizen, providing a good place to work and being a good steward of our environmental resources."

Cold Spring Granite's new headquarters was designed by Miller Architects & Builders of St. Cloud, MN, with extensive input from Cold Spring Granite employee teams.

"As is typical with our company's open culture, employees were involved in every aspect of this new building's creation," said Ray Jaeger, Engineering Manager at Cold Spring Granite. "Employee committees helped guide our efforts, providing feedback on office layouts, design features, stone selection, landscaping and even how far we went with the LEED process. We found that this involvement helped ease our employees' transition to the new space, as we were making a significant change to the work environment."

Constructing the new headquarters, located in Cold Spring, MN, at 17482 Granite West Road, is the final phase of Cold Spring Granite's consolidation plan to move from its downtown location to the West Campus in Cold Spring in order to increase productivity and make for a more efficient and integrated operation. Prior to the new headquarters, divisions were located in separate buildings. The new building has 31% less square footage than the old building, while accommodating the same number of employees.

"Now that we're in one space, we've reduced redundancy and are more efficient," said Mattke. "The new environment is very positive, and it demonstrates our commitment to creating, maintaining and enhancing a sustainable future."

The Cold Spring Granite headquarters was designed to achieve LEED certification for energy use, lighting, water and material use as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies.

"Cold Spring Granite is one of the first private-sector companies in central Minnesota to achieve LEED certification -- a huge milestone for this area of the country," said Perry Nistler, department head for mechanical and electrical engineering with Duffy Engineering & Associates of St. Cloud, MN. Nistler served as one of the project's LEED Accredited Professionals, a certification that distinguishes building professionals with the knowledge and skills to successfully steward the LEED certification process.

Key to LEED certification for the Cold Spring Granite headquarters was the use of regional material, as all stone for the building was extracted from Cold Spring Granite's own quarries within 250 miles of the project site. The use of regional materials exceeded 46%, and Cold Spring Granite received an innovation point for exemplary performance. The building incorporates the following Cold Spring Granite materials: Carnelian™ Diamond 100 finish as the main cladding, split limestone sills and medallions between the main window sections and polished Rainbow™ as the accent band.

In addition to using granite and limestone from the company's own quarries, the new headquarters incorporates historical structural elements from the previous downtown industrial site as a portion of the new building. The new building's front entryway includes truss columns that formerly held up the old building's exterior crane beams.

Another unique attribute of the project is a variable frequency drive on the rooftop fan's motor. Typically, this fan would include a bypass damper system, which is very wasteful because air is recirculated through the unit and not put throughout the building. The mechanical electrical engineers at Duffy Engineering worked carefully with the contractor to plan this aspect, which offers one of the building's best energy-saving features. The building has an energy savings of more than 36%, based on the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard.

"Cold Spring Granite has adopted a leadership role related to environmental issues, including its plant and manufacturing processes," said Joe Seifert, President of Miller Architects & Builders of St. Cloud, MN. "Its plans for constructing a green headquarters says a lot about its overall commitment to environmental responsibility."

"Cold Spring Granites' LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. "The urgency of USGBC's mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before, and Cold Spring Granite's new headquarters serves as a prime example with just how much we can accomplish."