By Alison Bailin Batz
Though his name is Barry Chasse, this local business owner does nothing but lead—and LEED—when it comes to environmentally focused development.
CHASSE Building Team
Chasse—a past president and Life Director of the Arizona Builders Alliance—is the owner of CHASSE Building Team, a general contracting company founded in 2007 that has grown to more than 130 team members and is working on an average of $250 million in construction projects annually, strictly in Arizona.
A key reason for such success: construction of affordable, energy-efficient projects.
“We are always looking to identify sustainable opportunities within construction, navigating clients through the process, and educating everyone involved how sustainability can be affordable,” says
Chasse, who earned his bachelor’s degree in Construction from Arizona State University in 1991 and worked for 17 years at one of the nation’s largest general contractors before going out on his own. “We pride ourselves on being leaders in innovation when it comes to green and other environmentally friendly solutions, as well as dedicated advocates of green building across Arizona. In fact, our multifamily division has created an industry-wide LEED standard.”
LEED Certified Projects
According to Chasse, his team has completed nearly two dozen LEED Certified projects in greater Phoenix and Tucson in recent years, more than half of which are LEED Platinum. Among them:
● AVIVA, an amenity-rich, smart apartment community earning itself the first multifamily
development to be built to National Green Building Standards (NGBS) in the area.
● Patina Wellness Center, which earned the LEED Silver designation and provides substance abuse and co-occurring treatment services focusing on integrating the mind, body and spirit.
● Landmark Senior Housing, a LEED Platinum designated development that serves those who are no longer able to live on their own but still desire to be independent. The building uses less water and energy, produces a reduced amount of greenhouse gases, and incorporates “high-quality transit” to encourage the use of public transportation, resulting in lowering regional pollution.
● Boys & Girls Club of the East Valley Compadre Branch, a LEED Silver project that used local sourcing, recycled content materials, low-flow fixtures, and salvaged demo materials.
● Cedar Crossing, a LEED Platinum affordable apartment development, was awarded the Housing Hero Award presented by the Arizona Department of Housing.
● Mesa Artspace, a LEED Platinum housing development for artists qualified as low-income that also achieved the LEED for Homes Midrise Platinum certification by incorporating various energy-efficient systems including LED lighting and low-flow water restrictions.
Other Environmental Initiatives
“We also reduce our environmental impact on all of our projects by diverting construction waste from landfills through recycling, salvaging and repurposing existing buildings, and reduce our carbon footprint by using local materials and manufacturers,” says Chasse.
Beyond its projects, Chasse has also gone the extra mile when it comes to his physical business presence.
“In late 2018, we expanded into a new 17,000-square-foot headquarters in Tempe,” says Chasse. “Every aspect of our new home is not only environmentally responsible, but also takes into consideration team member comfort and operational protocols.”
According to Chasse, the building features high-efficiency mechanical units, which reduced energy consumption by over 30%; an energy management system, which fully automates the mechanical, lighting, and power systems; passive cooling, which utilizes mechanical economizers and low-velocity ceiling fans; energy-efficient lighting; building envelop; and photovoltaics.
Chasse and his team were also able to divert 75% of the construction waste from the landfill and have a “no bottled water” policy.
“We also use digital plans with specialty software to limit paper waste, but we do recycle any such waste we do incur,” says Chasse, who also offers each employee a height adjustable workstation and built a recreation area on-site with ping-pong and other active things to do during down time.
It’s no wonder Chasse was recently recognized by Arizona State University as among the “Sun Devil 100” and as a Phoenix Business Journal 2019 Most Admired Leader in Arizona.
Alison Bailin Batz is a freelance writer on interesting people, places and things throughout Arizona, as well as an avid travel writer. She has a lot to say about everything, all of the time. Just try to stop her. abailin@hmapr.com
