Focus: HOPE invests $1.36M in making its campus sustainable

Focus: HOPE is investing $1.36 million toward improving its Oakman Boulevard campus with a multitude of upgrades geared toward sustainability.

"The overall goal is to reduce our kilowatt usage by 15 percent, which I know we will reach," says Arnold Pirtle, director of facilities for Focus: HOPE.

This is the first renovation projected focused on energy efficiency for Focus: HOPE, which calls itself a nonprofit civil and human rights organization. It plans to make these improvements to nine buildings, starting sometime around the Fourth of July. The campus is composed of buildings that were once part of Ex-Cell-O's world headquarters, a former machine shop, an old Ford engine plant, and what was once a grocery store. Focus: HOPE uses them now for its career training programs, child care center, food program, and other activities.

"Four facilities haven't had any real energy-efficiency upgrade," Pirtle says. "The other five have had at least partial renovations."

Among the improvements include installing energy-efficient lighting, low-flow bathroom fixtures, and weatherization upgrades. The idea is to make the campus safer and more environmentally friendly for long-term results. Part of the project is being funded by the city's SmartBuildings program.

Source: Arnold Pirtle, director of facilities for Focus: HOPE
Writer: Jon Zemke

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