Last year, Strategic America converted the former headquarters of Regency Homes into its new corporate abode.

The integrated marketing firm wants the Green Building Certification Institute to recognize its improvements to the leased space at 6600 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines.

The company is pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) certification, the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) benchmark for the tenant improvement market.

Strategic America began its remodel in June of last year, spending 100 days and an undisclosed amount of cash on the project. In December, it moved about 90 employees into the building’s west wing.

Today, clients and other visitors will find the same hardwood floors, marble staircase and glass awards case that Regency constructed to showcase its prowess in the custom-built home market.

Strategic America hopes its retention of such amenities, and the adaptive reuse of others, will help it obtain the necessary points to achieve LEED-CI certification.

In February 2009, about 10 months after Regency’s homebuilding empire collapsed as the nation slid into recession, Vermont-based NLV Financial Corp. acquired the nearly 90,000-square-foot property through a nonjudicial foreclosure agreement.

The Siedenburg Group helped Strategic America, which signed a seven-year lease with a five-year renewal option, select the site. The property is managed by Ruhl & Ruhl Commercial Co. and Fox Construction Services Inc. was the project’s general contractor. Eric Wessels, a former Simonson & Associates Architects LLC employee, is the project architect.

Wessels said LEED-CI, which is also known as LEED for Interior Design & Construction, was developed originally to complement LEED for Core & Shell, a system that encourages synergistic relationships that allow prospective tenants to capitalize on green strategies implemented by the developer.

However, given that the former Regency building was constructed without LEED in mind, Wessels said Strategic America’s build-out is more akin to LEED for Existing Buildings, a rating scheme that awards points and credits based on how developers repurpose and dispose of existing materials.

“The space they were taking over really wasn’t that old,” said Wessels, who now works as an independent consultant. “One of the things I was asked to do by Strategic America was to reuse as much as possible, where it worked both in a design sense and a useful sense.”

In addition to repurposing a majority of the space’s existing materials – light fixtures and ceiling tiles were reused, wood office doors were hung elsewhere, marble countertops were moved – Strategic America found ways to reposition other features.

A kiosk, for example, was converted into a message board and a dark-wood credenza became a centerpiece of John Schreurs’ executive office suite.

Schreurs, Strategic America’s president and chief operating officer, said the sustainable building project is in line with his company’s corporate culture of social responsibility.

“It’s a commitment that is not just for today. It is a commitment for the future to be responsible, to be a good employer,” Schreurs said, noting that an employee survey found the vast majority of his staff supported the project. “Ninety-four percent said it was the right thing to do.”

Besides, the remodel allowed more natural light to enter the building, giving employees a more inviting place to work.

“One of the things they really wanted to accomplish was to bring more natural light into the building, to open up the corporate environment, giving it a less sterile feel,” Wessels said.

The retrofit also included the installation of energy-efficient light-emitting diode lighting, low-flow toilets, motion-activated illumination and other energy-efficient features. InterfaceFLOR carpeting, which is made of recycled fibers, was installed in certain areas, and some original carpeting was retained.

MAiSPACE cubicle systems were installed with the environment, as well as worker retention and recruitment, in mind.

“Buyers of office furniture are adding green to the checklist of criteria used in evaluating vendors,” said Mark Bassil, vice president of Mount Olive, N.J.-based MAiSPACE Inc., in a press release.

Strategic America also relocated to its new digs some used furniture from its former space at 1500 N.W. 118th St. in Clive.

Ninety-five percent of materials that weren’t salvaged for the company’s reuse, including some furniture, were donated to local churches, schools and United Way of Central Iowa agencies.

“It obviously would be easier if you got to start from scratch,” said Lore McManus Solo, a Strategic America principal and vice president. “When you have existing space, you have to do your best to creatively and innovatively find those opportunities.”

Lisa Holtorf, Strategic America’s vice president of operations and integration, has been with the company for 15 years – half of its 30-year history. She said the improvements are part of a commitment to sustainability that is now ingrained into the company’s culture and long-term goals.

Going forward, Strategic America plans to work with its landlord to increase overall efficiencies in the building as it continues its pursuit of LEED certification.

“The landlord’s position is that they would like to help with that,” said Tom Knapp, a project manager with Ruhl & Ruhl, in confirming that the installation of a more energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system may help its tenant achieve LEED status.

“It could be that we make some improvements to the west-side system for their benefit,” Knapp said, referring to a potential upgrade to one of the building’s HVAC units. And if all goes well, he said, the east wing could get a makeover, too.

“I think it made the whole space more functional,” Knapp said of Strategic America’s initiative.

“It’s important for us to have them (Ruhl & Ruhl) as part of the equation, because we don’t control all of the elements of the building,” Holtorf said.

Strategic America’s build-out is one of at least 10 commercial real estate projects in Iowa that have registered for LEED-CI certification. At least three projects in the state have achieved that accreditation.

“Regardless of LEED certification, we are very focused on doing the right thing,” Holtorf said.