The Source - Spring 2009 - (Page 17)

ueling the future of one of the South’s most historic cities is Richmond, Virginia’s Department of Public Utilities (DPU). As a travel destination, a place to work or to settle down, Richmond is a veritable goldmine of opportunity for new construction. Consider Short Pump Towne Center, Stony Point Fashion Park and The Shoppes at White Oak Village, three open-air malls that have taken Richmond’s shopping experience to a whole new level, each using clean, green and efficient natural gas. A premier provider of utility services, DPU is the eighth largest municipally owned natural gas utility in the country. Located along the scenic James River with a growing and varied population of more than 1 million urban and suburbanites, the city of Richmond has seen resurgence of commercial business development over the last six years. That growth also has translated into the increased use of natural gas for cooking, heating, hot water and generators. DPU maintains more than 1,700 miles of gas mains throughout Richmond, Henrico County and northern Chesterfield County. It is no wonder, with Richmond’s urban and suburban growth and access to natural gas, that developers Forest City Enterprises and Taubman Corp., shared a vision to build innovative mixed-use retail developments in DPU’s service territory. Richmond’s newest shopping destinations use natural gas in conventional and inventive ways that literally have changed the retail face of the city. With fashion-forward anchor stores, upscale restaurants and interesting specialty shops—most of which are powered by natural gas—the city offers a shopping experience tantamount to larger metropolitan cities. From concept to completion Marketing efforts started early with the architects and engineers. DPU’s Energy Services division, which includes the gas utility’s residential, commercial and industrial marketing personnel, identified the customers and communicated the benefits of using natural gas. From the clearing and excavating of each massive site to the ribbon-cutting that introduced each exciting new shop and restaurant, DPU's marketing team worked hand-inhand with the developers throughout all stages of the construction process. Marketing specialists met with the engineers, architects and project managers to gather site plans and drawings for the site. Connected gas loads, pressure requests and meter locations were identified early to ensure customers the seamless process of the natural gas installation. The end result was a win-win situation for all participants. DPU established excellent one-on-one working relationships with all parties involved. Shoppers now benefit from the comfort of luxury shopping, while avid restaurant goers enjoy the new variety of dining options. DPU increased gas loads to provide its customers the energy of their choice: natural gas. “Everyone worked closely together as a team, and we achieved successful results,” F says Chris Beschler, DPU’s director. Capturing the market was feasible since natural gas mains were available for each of these mega malls. The challenge was coordinating DPU’s resources for Stony Point and Short Pump malls because the shopping centers were built simultaneously at opposite ends of the city’s service territory. This meant the commercial marketing specialist spent a considerable amount of time working and commuting between the two construction sites. Coordinating the service lines and meter installations was a challenging endeavor and kept DPU’s operations division striving to focus on completing the work on the customer’s time schedule. Stony Point and Short Pump malls opened according to schedule—both celebrating their grand openings in September 2003—even though the Richmond area sustained 40-60 mph winds brought on by Hurricane Isabel. Stony Point Fashion Park, located in the city of Richmond, and Short Pump Town Center and The Shoppes at White Oak Village, both in Henrico County, have a combined 2,500,000 square footage. These popular malls use natural gas for cooking and heating. Anchor stores include Saks Fifth Avenue, Dillards, Dicks Sporting Goods, and Nordstrom’s, along with restaurants BrioTuscan Grill, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Maggianos and The Cheesecake Factory. Capturing the market is essential to the growth of the gas utility, raising awareness of the beneﬁts of using natural gas and providing the most reliable energy source to customers: clean and efﬁcient natural gas.  THE SOURCE | SPRING 2009 , VOL. 1, ISSUE 3 17

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Source - Spring 2009

The Source - Spring 2009 Contents First Person APGA Events Q&A: One-on-One with Senator Jeff Bingaman Great Malls Think Alike The Economy and Your Customers Member to Member New Technology: Saving Energy Never Felt So Good New Technology: Get Pumped! Legislative Outlook The Pipeline Advertiser.com Advertisers' Index At Last

The Source - Spring 2009

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