Pima County News » construction

New county website helps you design ‘net-zero’ energy homes and buildings

Pima County News — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 18:06:30 +0000

Pima County, Ariz. (Mar. 5, 2012) - A new Pima County web site provides you with the tools to design “Net-Zero” energy homes, apartments, offices and retail buildings that won’t use more energy than they create.

The information can also be used to remodel a structure to save energy costs.

The website, http://www.pima.gov/netzero, has a residential section and a commercial section for apartments, retail and offices with calculators based on the City of Tucson/Pima County Net-Zero Energy Standard.

“We are pleased to have another terrific tool for helping the community reduce energy use. Energy bills are a significant portion of the cost of running a business or owning a home,” said Leslie Ethen, Director of the City of Tucson’s Office of Conservation and Sustainable Development. “Resources like this and the City’s Green Business Certification program are ways in which we can help businesses and homeowners reduce these costs.”

Working with a few basic facts about the design of the building, such as the shape of the roof, the orientation of the building and number of stories, the website can calculate the building’s “energy budget.”

The website provides a “recipe card,” or set of energy efficiency building elements, to be incorporated in the design.

The website also has a calculator to determine the financial performance of the building.

The site is useful to homeowners, commercial builders and commercial property owners, who can use the information for new construction or for renovation of existing structures, to reduce energy costs.

Net-Zero homes and apartments can save residents money every month, said Rich Franz-Under, Pima County’s Green Building Program Manager. A typical home owner can save between $40 and $80 a month because of significantly lower utility bills, he said.

Pima County and the City of Tucson are the first governmental jurisdictions in the nation to develop a building standard to achieve Net-Zero energy.

The City of Tucson’s Office of Conservation and Sustainable Development (OCSD) provided the funding for the project through an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Pima County Development Services, Building Safety and Sustainability made up the principal research group on the web project, with assistance from the University of Arizona College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and Tucson Water.

Pima County led the development of a regional green-building rating system for homes in 2008. Using that knowledge, the County worked with its collaborators to develop the Net-Zero energy code.

$19M La Cholla Boulevard, Ruthrauff Road to River Road improvement project dedication set Friday, Sept. 9 at 9 a.m.

Pima County News — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 22:24:11 +0000

Pima County, Ariz. – On Friday, Sept. 9, 2011 at 9 a.m., the Pima County Department of Transportation and the Regional Transportation Authority will host a dedication ceremony marking the completion of the La Cholla Boulevard Ruthrauff Road to River Road Improvement Project. The ceremony will be at the northwest corner of La Cholla Blvd and Curtis Road.

The program includes local leaders, including Dist. 3 Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson, County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry, Pima County Transportation Director Priscilla Cornelio and the president of the Flowing Wells Coalition, Ellie Towne.

The La Cholla Boulevard Improvement Project was approved in 2006 by Pima County voters as part of the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) transportation plan.
The Pima County Department of Transportation, along with Eagle Rock Excavating and the design team of HDR, Engineering Inc., completed this project in July 2011. The cost of construction was $19 million.

The project includes expansion of the roadway to six lanes, paved shoulders for bicycles, and sidewalks which have been connected to the Rillito River Park Path.
Drainage improvements include installation of a large storm drain from Ruthrauff Road to the Rillito River as well as curbs and storm drains for the roadway.

Also, at the Rillito River, a 360-foot long six-lane bridge was constructed featuring art designed by Vicki Scuri Siteworks.

The project includes intersection improvements at La Cholla/Curtis Road and at La Cholla/Ruthrauff Road, including dual left-turn lanes for southbound traffic on La Cholla Boulevard. And, transit was improved with the construction of five bus pullouts.

Intersection work to start July 5 at Alvernon and Valencia

Pima County News — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 00:02:37 +0000

Pima County, Ariz. – Work will begin Tuesday, July 5 to reconstruct the intersection at Alvernon Way and Valencia Road. Pima County, the Regional Transportation Authority and their contractor will complete the project in about six months.

Improvements include:

Widening the intersection to six lanes, connecting to Valencia on the west; two left-turn lanes in all four directions; dedicated right-turn lanes in the east/west direction on Valencia and multi-use lanes and sidewalks.

Please approach the area with caution and obey all traffic control devices.