After outgrowing its old facility in Southeast Portland, New Heights Physical Therapy set its sights on a new location perfectly suited for an energy-efficient renovation.
The aging building, located on Northeast Glisan Street, was previously a sheet metal supply store. “We got a lot of different responses about this building, whether we should tear it down or try to rehab it,” said Kevin Poe, CEO, New Heights. “But we do physical therapy, so we decided to rehab the place.”
New Heights turned to Energy Trust for assistance in bringing cost-effective, energy-saving solutions into the project. Through Energy Trust’s market solutions offering for small office buildings, New Heights received $20,630 in cash incentives plus technical support for a variety of features, including solar-ready construction, LED lighting, efficient heating and cooling and high-performance windows. Combined, these solutions are projected to save an estimated 39,000 kilowatt hours each year.
The Glisan Street clinic is more than twice the size of New Heights’ previous space, but the energy bill is actually less. “It’s been phenomenal,” said Poe. “We’re on to a really good thing here, and we’re not done yet.”