EcoCentre, the Living Building,
opens with vine-cutting ceremony
Building attracts the attention of Florida officials as they anxiously await the opening of this "green on steroids" office building

[June 23, 2008; West Palm Beach, FL] -- The official opening of the new Romano Law Group headquarters, EcoCentre, the Living Building took place on Friday, June 20, 2008 with a "vine cutting" ceremony attended by local dignitaries, friends and colleagues of Romano Law Group.  Steven Bassett, a LEED AP member of the Florida Building Commission, attended the celebration and commented, "EcoCentre will set the bar when it comes to green building in South Florida.  This building is a fine example of how it is possible to merge business with environmental well being."

EcoCentre, the Living Building, is Florida’s first office building of its kind -- a 33,000 gross sq. ft., four-story structure incorporating natural ”living” systems and “green” technologies designed to save energy, reduce CO2 emissions, water consumption and create an overall healthier environment.  EcoCentre is described as a “living” building because the building is its own ecosystem -- all of its living systems, its occupants, plants and micro-organisms, interact with all of its non-living physical features.  The result is a holistically designed structure that is a self-sustaining eco-environment; a tranquil workplace offering its occupants a peaceful and soothing respite from the hectic pace of the busy law practice of Romano Law Group.  

The project is registered with the Green Building Council and seeking Gold L.E.E.D. certification, a procedure demonstrating that the project has been planned, designed, and completed with a primary goal of environmental enhancement.  The building will contain, among other things, “a Living Machine®,” a technological innovation which allows for the on-site purification and recycling of water.  The building will be topped by a “Living Roof,” or “roof park,” which will mimic a miniature “wetland project” and which will not only provide for greenery, plants, trees, and a lawn on the rooftop, but will be integrated into the building’s water system and environmental life cycle.  

Eco-Centre, the Living Building, will save approximately 200,000 gallons of water a year reducing its impact on the city's water infrastructure by recycling water from lavatories and showers, capturing and storing rainwater, using water-efficient plumbing fixtures and condensate capture from the air conditioning system.

Other guests at the opening include Sen. Dave Aronberg, District 27; Rep. Mary Brandenburg, District 89; Rep. Maria Sachs, District 86; Lake Worth Mayor Jeff Clemens; Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon; Lake Worth Chamber President Tom Ramiccio; and officials from City of Lake Worth Planning & Zoning.  
     
EcoCentre, the Living Building is located at 1005 Lake Avenue in Lake Worth, Florida

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