Mayor gives first sustainability award to medical office.

Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard

Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy has given her first sustainability award to the $20 million Orthopedic Healthcare Northwest medical office building under construction off Coburg Road.

Piercy picked the four-story Slocum Center for Orthopedic & Sports Medicine near Coburg Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard for its environmentally friendly design and construction. The medical business also was recognized for its employee-friendly policies.

Orthopedic Healthcare Northwest is "making every effort to address the triple bottom line: People, planet and profits," Piercy said.

The 80,000-square-foot building is being constructed with low volatile-organic-emitting paints and adhesives, no polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe, and recycled materials, said Thomas Wuest, an orthopedic surgeon and president of Orthopedic Healthcare Northwest.

About 85 percent of the materials from the former Goodwill and other buildings that were removed to make way for the Slocum Center were recycled, Piercy said.

The Slocum Center will use 33 percent less electricity than other comparable office buildings, Wuest said, partly by circulating fresh air for cooling.

An efficient irrigation sprinkler system, bioswales that filter rainwater and drought-resistant landscaping will reduce water use, he said.

The structure has been designed to get the silver rating from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, program, which recognizes buildings that meet energy and environmental standards.

Wuest estimated that the environmentally friendly design and materials added about 10 percent, or $2 million, to the cost of the building.

"We are extremely pleased" about getting the mayor's award, Wuest said. "We have put a lot of effort into getting LEED certification."

Orthopedic Healthcare Northwest "has an enviable record" of treating its employees well, Piercy said. Workers receive education help to advance their health care careers, full health insurance, and retirement benefits, she said. Employees have flexible work schedules and they are encouraged to be community volunteers, she said.

Orthopedic Healthcare Northwest has about 140 employees at its two offices - one on Hilyard Street next to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, and one on G Street next to McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield. The orthopedic group will consolidate the two offices into the Coburg Road building when it opens, possibly in September.

The firm is to add about 50 employees after it moves into the building, Wuest said.

The building's developer and owner is McKay Investment Co., owner of Oakway Center off Coburg Road.

Orthopedic Healthcare Northwest deserves credit for insisting on a building that meets or exceeds LEED requirements, said Steve Korth, director of real estate and development for McKay Investment. "It was their vision and willingness to do what they thought was appropriate," he said.

Piercy will give a sustainability award to a business each month.

Nominations can be made to: [e-mail] or [e-mail].