A $29 million green parking garage
Think cars can't be clean? Check out the solar-powered car park designed by a Santa Monica architecture firm.
(Fortune Small Business) -- Moore Ruble Yudell Architects, a 65-employee firm in Santa Monica, has been designing sustainable buildings for more than two decades. The company markets its green expertise to secure high-profile projects around the world, including the new U.S. embassy in Berlin and a planned consulate in Taipei.
A more local project is an environmentally friendly parking structure for the Santa Monica Civic Center. To build the LEED-certified car park, the designers used recycled steel and concrete from a bonding mixture that required less energy than cement. Reflective glass panels decorate the structure, maximizing natural light and reducing electricity consumption. Rooftop photovoltaic panels harness solar energy to generate one-third of the garage's electricity. And its water-recycling system channels nonsewage water to the sprinklers.
Those features weren't cheap: The $29 million pricetag for the car park is about $10 million more than those for comparable garages. Santa Monica estimates that its parking structure will be profitable within 15 years, generating revenue from 900 parking spaces and 9,000 square feet of retail space. 
Features-
Smart entrepreneurs are now doing deals in 140 characters or less on Twitter. More -
As more customers choose - or are forced - to fill prescriptions by mail, independent pharmacies are struggling to survive. More -
A Texas hospitality company considers where to invest and where to cut back to weather the recession. More -
How 7 innovative companies are inspiring workers and boosting the bottom line. More -
42 startups duked it out in the world's most lucrative business plan competition. We trailed one team to the bitter end. More -
The Emerging 200 program aims to boost job growth by training inner-city entrepreneurs to expand their companies. More -
These resellers of DVDs, CDs and books make millions from the media industry's leftovers. More
Never mind the headlines -- for some fireworks companies, there's no slump. More
Tech competition is heating up: Google vs. Microsoft! Microsoft vs. Apple! Apple vs. Palm! Here's how the second half of '09 is shaping up. More
Your car may not be new, but its gizmos can be - for as little as a few hundred bucks. More
More Small Business
