Case Study

Abercorn Common

What do you get when you cross an existing suburban shopping center, a tenant mix that may or may not relocate, and a hodgepodge of national retailer design standards? The first all retail LEED Core and Shell shopping center in the nation, that’s what!

Abercorn Common is a roughly 180,000 sf strip shopping center, located on the southside of Savannah, GA. The award winning retail center was a combination of the renovation of the existing shopping center combined with a heft dose of new construction. Designing around existing tenants and incorporating design standards from numerous retailers was challenging but overcome by the design team and developer and resulted in a LEED SIlver certification in 2005. Abercorn Common features high efficiency rooftop package units and lighting, high performance glazing, and a reflective TPO roof membrane to reduce heat gain, resulting in a 30% energy savings. Water use was reduced by over 50% by a combination of waterless urinals, pressure assisted toilets, and ultra low flow metered faucets. 100% of irrigation needs are met by collecting the roof runoff for irrigation to the tune of nearly 5 million gallons annually. Over an acre of porous pavement treats site runoff, and over 6000 tons of material were diverted from the landfill during the construction process (80%).