Build It and They Will Come: Green Building Exchange

Given the housing market these days, many homeowners feel it safer to stay put and remodel, rather than move up to a shinier or larger home. Some of these homeowners are looking to do so in a green, or ecologically sound, manner. To help both homeowners and contractors alike, Michael Schaeffer has recently opened the Green Building Exchange in Redwood City. Schaeffer, a contractor himself, took a large industrial/office space and turned it into a permanent expo of green-related companies, showcasing green products, green builders, green architects, and more.

Curious, I took a trip down there to see what the Green Building Exchange had to offer. Located at the end of Main Street, a stone’s throw from Highway 101, the GBE is located on the first floor of a rather upscale office building (I think at one point there was a Mercedes dealership here). Taking up 55,000 square feet, including classrooms and a showroom that has been divided up by 6-foot-high moveable partitions, which measure ten feet wide and 4 feet deep. While just recently opened and only 1/3 filled, there is a good variety of resources and material here for a general consumer. Flooring options, paint options, furniture, architects, recycling, energy efficiency systems, solar power, and more. Once this place is full, my guess is that you will be able to do one-stop shopping. And by shopping, I don’t mean you will be able to drive up to the door and load the flooring, but rather that you will be able to find every product you need for remodeling or building and where in the Bay Area to find or order it.

In addition, there are weekly forums and training sessions on such topics as: Eco-logical Building 101, And Insider’s Introduction to Green Building, Concrete Form Construction, Living Ecocity Examples, and more. Green Building Exchange also hosts a weekly radio program called Green Seed Radio, which exhibitors may use as a market resource, for educational purposes, or for simple entertainment. Green Seed Radio airs Saturdays at 2 pm on 960 AM, “The Quake.”

Green Building Exchange
305 Main Street, Redwood City
(650) 369-4900
Hours: Mon-Fri 9 – 7, Sat/Sun 10 – 6

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