Fiddler’s Green, Multi-Use Entertainment and Business Campus, Commits to Energy and Carbon Reduction

Situated 15 minutes south of Denver’s Central Business District lies Fiddler’s Green. The multi-building, mixed-use campus is equipped with commercial office space aptly named Fiddler’s Green I and Fiddler’s Green II, a popular outdoor amphitheater, ample parking, the Museum of Outdoor Arts headquarters in Marjorie Park and the Palazzo Verdi Event Center. Originally built by commercial real estate developer John Madden Co., the development was purchased by Washington-based real estate firm Schnitzer West in December 2021.

At the onset of this project in the early 2010s, former building owner John Madden Co. had two primary energy efficiency goals: to address ongoing tenant comfort concerns and remedy air conditioning performance issues. Fiddler’s Green I and II originally opened in 1999 and 2001, respectively, and now faced major capital improvement requirements for the aging and inefficient buildings. Palazzo Verdi, on the other hand, was LEED® Certified and operating with a level of efficiency. To accommodate each building’s age, unique use cases and occupant demographics, developing building-specific energy efficiency models was of the utmost importance.

In 2013 and 2014, McKinstry worked closely with the John Madden Co. property team to execute existing building commissioning (EBCx), or retro-commissioning as it is also known. EBCx serves to provide actionable and building-specific data to optimize building energy modeling and improve energy usage intensity (EUI). Funding for the project came from a local commissioning rebate program through Xcel Energy. To bolster energy efficiency and sustainability efforts, local energy and utility organizations offered study and implementation fee rebates to qualified participants based on EBCx findings and their commitment to execute energy conservation measures based on those findings. After identifying several energy conservation measures, McKinstry performed an HVAC audit combined with a Facility Condition Assessment (FCA) on both Fiddler’s Green I and II facilities.

As a result of these efforts, John Madden Co. was able to commit to several solutions and McKinstry served as a consultative resource throughout the project, assisting ownership with navigating the commercial property assessed clean energy (C-PACE) funding program and utilizing actionable data to replace rooftop air conditioning units and control systems. At the time, Fiddler’s Green was the largest C-PACE funded project in the state and delivered $335,000 in annual utility savings representing a 30% reduction in overall utility spending. From an EUI reduction perspective, savings were seen across the board, with a 45.3% reduction for Fiddler’s Green I, a 32.7% reduction for Fiddler’s Green II, and a 33.1% reduction for Palazzo Verdi – an average EUI reduction of 37% across all three facilities.

In 2021, the new owner, Schnitzer West, committed to ongoing efforts to reduce Fiddler’s Green’s operational carbon footprint and continues to partner with McKinstry for an Active Energy Management (AEM) program. Implementation of AEM will provide the building owners with ongoing monitoring of building performance indicators through fault detection analysis, trend data and utility performance data. The AEM program also identifies additional energy conservation measure opportunities that may allow Schnitzer West to better adapt to current building performance standards and legislation and drive additional operational savings. McKinstry is proud to continue supporting Fiddler’s Green ownership as it looks to ensure service to the community and the environment for years to come.