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Schoolpictures.com goes for LEED status with new Ypsilanti HQ

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

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Ypsilanti

Schoolpictures.com was already going green with its new headquarters in Ypsilanti by reusing the old Ave Maria University campus in the center of a city. But now the web-based firm is going the extra mile, aiming for silver LEED status.

Schoolpictures.com is trying to do this with a combination of recycling and alternative energy. For instance, construction workers removed 70 tons of debris and trash in the initial phase of construction. About 80 percent of that was recycled. It's also working with Eastern Michigan University to install a wind turbine.

"We very much want to put renewable energy on site," says Skip Cerier, president of SchoolPictures.com.

The site is on Forest Avenue between the campus of EMU and Frog Island Park. Schoolpictures.com is renovating the buildings on the small campus, 21,000 square feet in all, making them more environmentally friendly. The firm is also installing green roofs on the two main buildings and renovating a 1864 Victorian home into a place for meetings and to entertain potential clients.

Schoolpictures.com is moving from Pittsfield Township because its growth has been so rapid its old headquarters just couldn't accommodate all the new employees. It has been working on its new home for nearly a year and is almost done.

"We're looking at a July move in," Cerier says.

Source: Skip Cerier, president of SchoolPictures.com
Writer: Jon Zemke

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