Historic City Hall Renovation Recognizes History and Incorporates Sustainability

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A walk through West Des Moines' "old" city hall at 137 Fifth St. is more than a tour through the past. It is a lesson in how an old building can be preserved and made sustainable, important components to restoration and continued growth of the community.

“The Historic City Hall building was set up as a demonstration project,” said Linda Schemmel, a planner with Development Services Planning Division of West Des Moines. “The city wants people to renovate existing building stock. This project introduces people to the possibilities.”

The project is part of the city’s efforts to make West Des Moines as green and sustainable as possible, even in the face of continued growth. “Sustainability can be looked at regardless of what is being renovated or built, whether looking at the older part of West Des Moines or a … cornfield,” she said.

The Historic City Hall building, now home to the and a West Des Moines welcome center, incorporates a geothermal heating and cooling system, a small area of green roof and solar panels that produce electricity.

The sustainability efforts are in tandem with preserving historic aspects of the building, such as keeping original floors in what used to be the council chambers and reusing windows and doors from the original building. Some furniture is made from Indonesian wood reclaimed from volcano damage and hardware purchased from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Des Moines.

The building will soon be one of only three in Iowa on the National Register of Historic Places that will be LEED certified, as well, said Jim Miller, director of the Valley Junction Historic Foundation.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is designated by the U.S. Green Building Council, a non-profit organization which encourages green and sustainable building. The number of points awarded for sustainable practices determines whether a building is simply certified as a LEED building, or at a higher level ranging up to platinum. A gold designation is expected for Historic City Hall, Miller said.

The foundation worked with the city, which owns the building, to obtain a variety of grants and donations for the $1.5 million renovation.

“Not only did we want to reflect its history with the restoration, but create a demonstration on how it can also be made green and sustainable,” Miller said. “That brought a lot of challenges, such as how to incorporate geothermal.”

Miller said he was initially told it would be impractical to install geothermal heating and cooling and make other sustainable improvements, but perseverance paid off.

“We’ve shown it can be done,” said Miller.

The foundation moved into the building six months ago, and the city recently received an award from Preservation Iowa, which listed the sustainable efforts along with the historic preservation as reasons for the award.

More LEED certified buildings in West Des Moines

The old city hall building will become one of at least four buildings in West Des Moines with some level of LEED certification. Other buildings listed by the Green Building Council as LEED certified are Mercy Medical Center West Lakes, Aviva U.S. Headquarters and Kohl's Department Store.

LEED certification was considered throughout the planning of , which has been open for two years, said Bill Stirler, director of Plant operations and maintenance for Mercy’s West Des Moines and Des Moines hospitals.

Stirler noted, “Sustainability isn’t just about energy, but also about how people can interact with the building.”

For example, parking stalls were built into the parking area where people can plug in their electric cars. The building has a series of boilers, some larger than others, that are used at different times depending on the needs, which saves energy.

Also, the building was turned somewhat to the west when it was built to catch more daylight. This not only helps keep the building warmer, but the natural light has beneficial effects for the patients, Stirler said.

He estimates the cost to operate the building is about one-third less per square foot than the Des Moines hospital site.

COMING TUESDAY: West Des Moines' efforts to become more sustainable began with an 11-member employee committee.