BMW North America is set to announce Monday that it will invest $60 million in two "green" dealership projects in Manhattan, the latest in a series of environmentally friendly projects popping up in the city.
BMW is overhauling the dealership it owns and operates at 555 West 57th St. and developing Manhattan's first freestanding dealership for BMW's Mini brand one block away. The new stores are being designed to cut energy use, and they reflect an effort by an auto company best known for its muscular sedans to reposition itself as environmentally conscious.
"Every floor, every wall, every ceiling, every light bulb will all be changed," says Jeff Falk, president of BMW of Manhattan. The dealership services up to 200 vehicles a day and is on track to sell about 3,700 new BMWs, Minis and used cars this year.
The renovation also will equip the dealership to service BMW's forthcoming line of electric and hybrid vehicles. In 2013, the Munich-based automotive giant plans to introduce the electric i3 and plug-in hybrid i8.
Both dealerships will be part of Manhattan's Automobile Row along 11th Avenue. The Mini dealership will open at the corner of 56th Street in a converted truck-assembly plant named the Chapman Building.
Building green in the city has become popular among developers eager to reduce energy costs and lure image-conscious tenants into their buildings. Durst Organization's One Bryant Park, completed in 2010, has a top environmental certification.
The most common way to validate a building's eco-friendliness is to apply for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Developers can earn different levels of LEED certification by doing everything from cutting down on energy use to installing bike racks or recycling construction waste.
In the case of the Mini dealership, BMW plans to include an insulated roof, a heat-recovery system in the garage, upgraded windows, and other elements that together the company estimates will cut down on energy usage by 25%.
On the facade of the upper floors of the remodeled BMW dealership, workers will install louvers to control the amount of outside heat that enters the building. The dealership also will have low-water-use plumbing fixtures, energy-efficient lamps and at least half of the wood used in it will come from a sustainable source.
The Mini building, which is aiming for LEED Silver certification, is scheduled for completion in September. The BMW building, which is aiming for a harder-to-obtain Gold certificate, is set to be done by December 2012.
The refurbishment of the BMW dealership, which has been at that location since 1998, will replace the building's one-story pyramid atrium with a flat two-story glass atrium, so that passers-by can gaze at two floors of cars in the window.
Down the avenue, the Mini project will convert the now-indistinct building, covered in peeling white paint, into a black, rectangle-framed box with a glass-clad showroom on the first floor.
The plan is also to make the BMW dealership more efficient and profitable by improving its layout. Mr. Falk, the dealership president, estimates the new design will reduce the movements of cars being serviced by about 30%.
BMW is overhauling the dealership it owns and operates at 555 West 57th St. and developing Manhattan's first freestanding dealership for BMW's Mini brand one block away. The new stores are being designed to cut energy use, and they reflect an effort by an auto company best known for its muscular sedans to reposition itself as environmentally conscious.
"Every floor, every wall, every ceiling, every light bulb will all be changed," says Jeff Falk, president of BMW of Manhattan. The dealership services up to 200 vehicles a day and is on track to sell about 3,700 new BMWs, Minis and used cars this year.
The renovation also will equip the dealership to service BMW's forthcoming line of electric and hybrid vehicles. In 2013, the Munich-based automotive giant plans to introduce the electric i3 and plug-in hybrid i8.
Both dealerships will be part of Manhattan's Automobile Row along 11th Avenue. The Mini dealership will open at the corner of 56th Street in a converted truck-assembly plant named the Chapman Building.
Building green in the city has become popular among developers eager to reduce energy costs and lure image-conscious tenants into their buildings. Durst Organization's One Bryant Park, completed in 2010, has a top environmental certification.
The most common way to validate a building's eco-friendliness is to apply for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Developers can earn different levels of LEED certification by doing everything from cutting down on energy use to installing bike racks or recycling construction waste.
In the case of the Mini dealership, BMW plans to include an insulated roof, a heat-recovery system in the garage, upgraded windows, and other elements that together the company estimates will cut down on energy usage by 25%.
On the facade of the upper floors of the remodeled BMW dealership, workers will install louvers to control the amount of outside heat that enters the building. The dealership also will have low-water-use plumbing fixtures, energy-efficient lamps and at least half of the wood used in it will come from a sustainable source.
The Mini building, which is aiming for LEED Silver certification, is scheduled for completion in September. The BMW building, which is aiming for a harder-to-obtain Gold certificate, is set to be done by December 2012.
The refurbishment of the BMW dealership, which has been at that location since 1998, will replace the building's one-story pyramid atrium with a flat two-story glass atrium, so that passers-by can gaze at two floors of cars in the window.
Down the avenue, the Mini project will convert the now-indistinct building, covered in peeling white paint, into a black, rectangle-framed box with a glass-clad showroom on the first floor.
The plan is also to make the BMW dealership more efficient and profitable by improving its layout. Mr. Falk, the dealership president, estimates the new design will reduce the movements of cars being serviced by about 30%.
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