Name: Darin Sand, LEED AP
Title: Director of Sustainability
Organization: Goodman Realty Group, Albuquerque, N.M.
Years with Goodman Realty Group: Six years
Years with current title: Three years
Primary responsibilities: “I oversee the company’s sustainability initiatives and programs, including LEED certification. I oversee historic preservation projects, financial incentives. I am also executive director of the Cultural Center of the Southwest.”
Organization’s most significant environment-related accomplishment so far: “The green renovation of the Hotel Andaluz.”
Organization’s most significant environment-related challenge: “Our solar thermal system is so efficient that we need to find more usage for the hot water.”
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Behind every successful green hotel project is an environmental champion—someone charged with overseeing its progress from start to finish. At the award-winning Hotel Andaluz in Albuquerque, N.M., that person is Darin Sand. As director of Sustainability for Goodman Realty Group, owner of the 10-story, 107-room LEED Gold property, Sand has overseen the property’s green transformation since the owner suggested a goal of LEED Silver in 2005.
It was at a meeting in 2005 that hotel owner Gary Goodman began talking about LEED certification for the hotel that first opened in 1939 as the Albuquerque Hilton, Conrad Hilton’s first hotel in New Mexico. Sand says few in the meeting understood what LEED was.
“I had to educate myself,” Sand says. “I became a LEED Accredited Professional. Having constant oversight of the project was a unique and interesting experience.”
What made the hotel project different was its historic nature. In the process of spending $30 million on the project, key elements of the original building had to be preserved. Any decision that related to the aesthetics of the exterior or indoor public spaces of the building had to be approved by the Historic Preservation Branch of the Federal government to ensure that the historic integrity of the building was not compromised.
Sand was charged with maximizing every available rebate and tax credit to help minimize the project’s cost. For example, a rebate of $23,000 was earned by purchasing water-efficient toilets (dual flush) and showerheads.
Most Construction Waste Recycled
The hotel handled its pre-occupancy waste management with a comprehensive waste management plan that allowed it to divert 75.6 percent of the hotel’s construction and demolition waste from the landfill. For these recycling efforts, Hotel Andaluz was named “Most Innovative Recycling Project of the Year” by the New Mexico Recycling Coalition.
During construction, all of the old iron bathtubs—13 tons of cast iron—were donated to a fine arts program at Mesaland Community College in Tucumcari, N.M. The tubs were used in the college’s Iron Pour Workshop. All old carpet was recycled and more than 100 old toilets were ground into small pieces and used as a road base. Old hotel wood trim that could not be reused in the project was sent to a local recycler that produces wood pellets for wood-burning stoves.
On the roof of Hotel Andaluz, there is a 73-panel solar thermal system that provides 60 percent of the domestic hot water for the hotel. Interestingly, after the panels were first installed, the owners received a letter stating that they detracted from the historic nature of the building. To address this concern, one-third of the panels were lowered.
Sand, who spends about 65 percent to 70 percent of his time at Goodman Realty Group on Hotel Andaluz, is constantly looking for new ways to make the hotel a more sustainable operation.
“I am currently working on an in-house water bottling system,” he says. “We have a filtration system already installed. We would like to create our own private label.”
Significant Water Savings
One of the most impressive accomplishments since the hotel opened almost two years ago in October 2009 has been the water savings. Water use has dropped an average of 649,638 gallons per month from pre-renovation figures. In addition to low-flow showerheads and dual flush toilets, the hotel’s owners have invested in three 2,500-gallon cisterns to capture rainwater. These are located in an adjacent parking structure. Water is piped into the basement of the hotel and later used for irrigation. To further conserve water, servers at Lucia, the hotel’s restaurant, ask guests first if they would like water instead of automatically pouring it. Unused water at Lucia is transferred to housekeeping for janitorial use.
Some of the other key green features at the hotel include:
• All food waste, including meat and fish, is composted by a local composter.
• Seventy percent of power purchased is green power.
• Each of the hotel’s four company cars is a Toyota Prius.
• A building energy management system, which incorporates infrared sensors and motion detectors, powers down heating and cooling systems when the guest is not in the room. Front desk personnel turn “on” guestrooms upon guest check-in.
• Dispensers are used for soap, shampoo and conditioner.
• Sand leads a green team that meets once a month.
• Much of the hotel’s furniture is made from bamboo.
• LED and compact fluorescent interior lighting add to energy savings.
• Carpet in the guestrooms including the cushioning is made from 12 percent pre-consumer recycled content and 28 percent post-consumer content.
• All of the paints, stains, adhesives, carpet and carpet padding are low VOC materials.
• Guestroom bed frames were constructed of salvaged wood. Also the public restroom vanities are made from ceiling wood beams that were removed from the hotel during the renovation.
• Occupancy sensors are installed in all public restrooms, storage closets and other non-regularly occupied areas.
• New high performance windows were installed throughout the hotel.
• The hotel has a new “cool roof” that reflects sunlight and heat back into the atmosphere, reducing the heat-island effect and the need to use excessive air-conditioning.
• The hotel is a big supporter of the arts and consistently allows local cultural organizations to use the facility on a complementary basis.
• The hotel’s domestic water boilers are 87 percent efficient, but rarely fire up because of the solar thermal system.
• Housekeeping has phased out use of all chemical cleaners and replaced them with environmentally friendly cleaning supplies.
• The hotel uses a number of ways to inform and educate guests on its green identity. In addition to a hotel video channel, which has a station for the hotel’s green initiatives, there is an in-room compendium that includes a section to illustrate the features and practices that make the guestrooms green.
Experience in Conference Planning
Before joining Goodman Realty Group, Sand worked for The Way International where he served as the New Mexico state manager. His background also includes planning and coordination of executive management conferences and special events for major organizations including NASCAR, General Electric Corp., Pennzoil and Compaq Computers.
When asked if his religious background (he has a degree in theology) has influenced his approach toward the environment, Sand said, “Maybe from a broad perspective, it sets the framework for my motives and my decision making—how I treat other people. I filter that through my responsibilities.”
For all of his and Goodman Realty Group’s efforts, Hotel Andaluz has received numerous awards. Sand was also a speaker during Green Day at this past May’s HD Expo & Conference.
Go to Goodman Realty Group for more information.
Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
