Apex Clean Energy breaks ground for Charlottesville office

Apex Clean Energy, a wind and solar power developer, broke ground in Charlottesville Tuesday on its new eight-story office building, a 187,000-square-foot structure on Garrett Street, south of the Downtown Mall.

William McDonough + Partners designed the eight-story office, which will be the state’s tallest timber building, according to Apex’s press release. McDonough, Riverbend Development and Hourigan Development, the project’s general contractor, will all have their corporate headquarters there. John Pritzlaff of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer represented Apex Clean Energy.

The building will use 875 solar panels expected to produce 364 megawatts of energy per year, which Apex expects will equate to zero net energy use, as well as a green roof terrace and sustainably harvested timber. Apex says the structure will produce a total potential carbon benefit of about 3,000 metric tons compared to a traditional concrete-and-steel building.

Apex was founded in 2009 in Charlottesville and has grown quickly. It currently has 170 employees locally, who work in three offices around the Court Square area and at the former Martha Jefferson Hospital. They will be able to work under one roof when the project is completed. 

Construction is expected to be finished in mid-2021.