Press Release

Community First CU To Build Net Zero Energy Commercial Building

Community First Credit Union is building a new state-of-the-art, full service branch. The new branch is located in South Lakeland on the corner of 540A and Carter Road.

Instead of purchasing raw land, the Credit Union made its first sustainable decision by selecting a previously developed site.
The new 4,151 square foot branch is designed to wrap around an existing Bruster's Ice Cream Shoppe (which will remain open during construction), increasing the area's development density while minimizing changes to infrastructure and local traffic patterns. A traffic study proved that each business's peak hours of operation were antonymic to the other.

The credit union is open until 5:30 pm during the weekdays and Saturday mornings, and the ice cream shop thrives in the evenings and on weekends. Preserving the existing building can not only be seen as diverting 100% of its materials from disposal in landfills through building reuse, but more importantly maintaining current jobs for its employees and a service to local residents.

The cohesive design also passively reduces energy required for both structures' cooling loads by reducing the total amount of exterior walls that are subject to the central Florida climate; therefore each building will be more efficient than if they were designed to be stand alone structures.

The most notable sustainable design feature of this project is the roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV) system that provides on-site renewable energy.

The system is designed to generate 85,717-kWH of electricity per year, more electricity than the Credit Union is expected to use. The PV system also passively contributes to energy savings by creating a double roof condition deferring direct heat gain on the building through natural convection.

'With unstable energy prices and the move for a greener environment, we wanted to be one of the first in this area as well as the State of Florida to build an environmental friendly branch,' said John Santarpia, President/CEO of the $100 million credit union. 'We don't want to stop at going Green. The need to conserve our natural resources is a major part of our mission, which is why Community First Credit Union will be using solar energy to power our branch.'
In addition to solar energy, rainwater reuse is also a key design component affecting both the building and the site. Using the roof as a collector, a cistern system will support both water closets and drip irrigation. With harvested rain water and low flow fixtures, calculations show the building will use 80% less potable water than a conventional design.

The branch interior is designed to be sustainable as well. Many finishes, including tile, carpet and counter tops, have been selected due to their recycled material content. The lighting system includes digital controls and photo sensors that automatically dim the interior lighting when natural daylight sufficiently illuminates a space. Additional occupancy sensors automatically turn lights off in unoccupied offices.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) in Washington, D.C.

Community First Credit Union hired Straughn Trout Architects, LLC and Folsom Construction, Inc. as LEED Accredited Professionals with the USGBC to oversee design and construction. The project will be the first in Polk County to achieve a LEED GOLD level of certification by achieving points in every LEED category including site characteristics, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and design innovations.