CPS Investment Advisors Hopes to Save With New Building

Chas P. Smith of CPS Investment Advisorsstands in his office in the company's newly renovated building. The property had been vacant and deteriorating since Wells Fargo moved out in 2010.

LAKELAND | Chas P. Smith is standing on top of his new headquarters, three stories above the streets of downtown Lakeland.

It's late in the afternoon and the roof is bathed entirely in brilliant, warm sunlight. Smith's new office is taking advantage of every bit of space: covering the roof are 220 solar panels, quietly absorbing the light to be used for power in the offices below.

"We're the only solar building downtown," said Smith, the founder of CPS Investment Advisors. "We expect that our electric bill will be cut in half."

The CPS Financial Center at 205 E. Orange St. is a rarity indeed. It is one of a relatively few businesses that are part of Lakeland Electric's net metering program, in which surplus solar power is sent back to the utility and credited to the customer's account.

In 2010 Lakeland Electric installed more than 1,200 solar panels on the roof of The Lakeland Center, which the city owns, but CPS Investment Advisors is the first private company in the downtown area to do the same.

"It's quite an accomplishment," said Jeff Curry, Lakeland Electric's alternative energy coordinator. "It's much more common to see these (panels) on residential rooftops," but not on a towering office building in the heart of the city's business district.

Smith, who relocated his 40-year-old company from its longtime headquarters on South Florida Avenue, said he viewed the new office as a chance to become more environmentally friendly. It is the most extensive construction project to take place downtown in several years.

"It was the last major eyesore in downtown Lakeland," Smith said. "We have a beautiful city, a great downtown, and we saw an opportunity with this building to return some of the success we've had."

The 24,000-square-foot property had been vacant and deteriorating since Wells Fargo moved out in 2010. CPS acquired the site for $1.15 million in 2013, demolished a portion that was beyond repair, and stripped the remaining structure down to a concrete shell.

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CPS Investment Advisors Hopes to Save With New Building