WPC News

New Corporate Headquarters Built to U.S. Green Building Council LEED Standard

WPC relocated its corporate headquarters to a four-acre site located at the Navy Yard at Noisette in North Charleston, SC, in January, 2008.

The WPC building included parts of the former Building 76 at the Navy Yard, which was partially demolished to accommodate construction of new infrastructure. Concrete, metal and other materials from the demolition were recycled. The original structure encompassed 40,000 square feet, where the new offices, designed by LS3P Architects, are now housed in a two and a half story building with about 25,000 feet of space.

Roger Noyes, Director of Development for The Navy Yard, commented that this building was originally scheduled for demolition because of its conflict with the new Navy Yard road system. WPC and LS3P were impressed with the "concrete, Art Deco design of the building," and came up with a "creative solution to remove portions of the old building, which is the ultimate in sustainability, while having their corporate headquarters reflect one of their core competencies in concrete structural design."

"WPC supports sustainable construction," says William (Reg) Christopher, president and CEO of WPC. The Navy Yard at Noisette appeals to WPC because it provides an opportunity to contribute to the restoration of the site that will ultimately become part of the overall sustainable community. Also, it provided an opportunity to reduce the environmental impacts of constructing a new building."

The new and renovated building structure integrates the Navy Yard's ecologically designed storm water management system, designed to reduce existing storm water quantity and significantly improve water quality. WPC built to U.S. Green Building Council LEED Standard.

"This construction project was significant because of being a major, owner-occupied project at the Navy Yard," stated Noyes. Noisette CEO John L. Knott, Jr., sees this as another step in achieving Noisette's overall aggregation strategy to create the Navy Yard as the home for the design, building, and planning professionals for the Charleston region. "Part of our overall aggregation strategy was to lure private firms and governmental agencies to the Navy Yard," he said. "The WPC headquarters adds to design and engineering firms like McMillan Smith & Partners Architects, along with the Trident Home Builders Association, American College of Building Arts and the Clemson University Restoration Institute, which have chosen the Navy Yard and continue to fulfill the vision of Noisette as the Silicon Valley of the Restoration Economy."

The Navy Yard at Noisette consists of approximately 340 acres, which are under redevelopment as part of the Noisette Project, currently one of the largest sustainable urban renewal projects in North America. For more background information on Noisette and the Navy Yard, go to www.navyyardsc.com, or www.noisettesc.com.