Kiowa County Commons Links Past to Future

Note: The following article was written by Janet West, President of the Kiowa County Media Center board of directors. It originally appeared in the Kiowa County Signal as a three part series. The first part is presented here. To read the whole article, head to the bottom of this post for a link to download the remaining two pieces.

Anyone who has driven down Main Street in Greensburg could not miss the construction south of the City Hall. When finished, the 20,000 square foot Kiowa County Commons, destined to be the next LEED Platinum building in Greensburg, will house the Greensburg branch of the Kiowa County Library, the County Historical Museum, the Kiowa County Media Center, and offices of K-State Research and Extension.

With a bid coming in just under $5 million, Compton Construction broke ground on the two story four-plex in April and construction started almost immediately. Since then, under the watchful eye of GLMV architects; Compton Chief, Gib Compton; and Construction Site Manager, David Spoon, the building has gone up on time and within budget.

Designed by GLMV Head Designer, Tod Ford, the Commons project is managed by Matt Cortez with Construction Manager duties going to Blaine Kohpay.

Boasting 48 geothermal wells, three photovoltaic roof towers, several light monitors, a green roof, ICF block construction, rain-water collection system, and energy-saving windows, the building is expected to reduce the energy of a traditionally-built facility of the same size by 40 percent.

When asked if it is worth the trouble of building green, Cortez is quick to answer. “We need to take responsibility for the building we put out there,” he said. We need to better the place we live in.” Kohpay agreed noting the efficiency of ICF block construction over stick built. “My job is quality control,” he said. “We make sure the owner gets the best product possible.” In fact, Cortez and Kohpay expect many of the green initiatives going into the Commons to become mainstream in the future. “If it does not have cost implications, GLMV designs for all of our projects automatically contain energy-saving features,” said Cortez. The contractor ultimately brings those energy-saving features to reality in the structure—in this case Compton Construction.

The Commons is the fourth LEED project for Compton in Greensburg. The company was also general contractor for the Business Incubator, the Kiowa County United Retail Business complex, and the Greensburg Public Works building. Although not LEED certified, Compton was also involved in the completion of the livestock pavilion – what he calls the “ham and lamb” barn at the Fairgrounds.

Coming to town with an awareness of green construction but with little prior experience in the process, Compton said he and his crews have learned a lot. “Sustainability is important,” said Compton. “But you have to be thoughtful as you go into it.” Part of that thoughtfulness is learning to maintain the advanced energy-savings systems. “It takes different skills to monitor and trouble shoot these systems,” said Compton. “Most janitors don’t have the skills.”

Site Manager Spoon has his own thoughts about the LEED process. “About 50% of the process is documentation,” he said. “I have to make sure it [LEED standards] happens. It takes time and time is money, but it pays for itself down the line.”

Of all the energy-saving methods used in the Common, Spoon said the combination of geothermal wells and ICF block are the most efficient. The 48 wells are divided into fields of 24 each that are 320 feet deep. In the closed geothermal system, water is heated or cooled from a constant 58 degrees and exchanged through heat pumps into and out of the building. For example, in the summer, the pumps will exchange 80-degree or more water with 58-degree water, thus cooling the building. As for the ICF blocks used to frame the structure, Spoon claims nothing can be said against the materials. “It’s R-48,” Spoons said. “That’s 2¾” of insulation and a 6” core. You can’t get any better than that.”

All in all, both the architects and the construction crews will have positive memories of their work here in Greensburg when the Commons is done. When he first came out, Compton said the community was all in it together, working for everyone’s good. Cortez agrees and sees the future impact of the project. “Not only will it benefit everyone here, we believe it will be a case study for design and construction in a rural setting,” he said, and in this case, it makes better the place we live.

Click here to download the rest of the article.

Also, head over to the Commons page in our Photo Library for more construction images.