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COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— December 17, 2014-January 6, 2015
O
n December 3rd, USGBC Colorado
named the winners of its first-
annual Commercial Real Estate
Green Awards recognizing excellence and
innovation in new and existing buildings in
Colorado. More than 150 attendees filled
the Grand Hall of Denver’s Union Station
where the awards were presented at a
gala reception. Winners were selected by a
15-person judging panel of green building
and commercial real estate professionals.
“The winners here tonight are emblematic
of the future of green building. Their
innovations have set a new standard in
Colorado – and the rest of the country –
for buildings that make environmental
and economic sense,” said Sharon Alton,
Executive Director, USGBC Colorado.
“USGBC Colorado salutes all the winners
and finalists for their collective energy and
commitment to making Colorado’s Green
Building Community a model of excellence.”
The Awards Gala was supported by
Xcel Energy. “Xcel Energy is proud to
support sustainability in Colorado. We help
customers manage their energy consumption
through one of the largest energy-saving
program portfolios in the United States, and
we provided studies and rebates to many
of the finalists of the USGBC Commercial
Real Estate Awards. Xcel was also recently
awarded the Best Energy Service Provider/
Utility Award in the nation which further
solidifies us as a leader in the sustainability
industry,” said Jennifer Elling, Xcel Energy.
The 2014 Commercial Real Estate Green
Awards winners are in seven categories:
Exceptional Implementation of
Sustainable Technologies
Denver Museum of Nature & Science -
Education and Collections Facility
The major sustainable features of this
new addition include 50% energy cost and
62% energy use savings; and LEED-NC
Platinum rating - 86 points (currently under
construction review by GBCI).
“The Denver Museum of Nature &
Science is pleased to receive this award
for implementation of sustainable
strategies honoring our new addition to the
Museum building,” said Elaine Harkins,
Facility Director, Denver Museum. “This
recognition of our sustainability efforts
helps us demonstrate to the community
the importance of commitment to energy
efficiency in the built environment.”
Rise to the Challenge: Most
Accomplished Green Building
The Ivywild School
The Ivywild School is a reinvented
community anchor achieved through the
transformation of an old 1900's school into
a combined brewery, bakery, bicycle retail
outlet, community meeting room, public
radio recording studio, coffee shop/spirits
lounge, and community garden.
“Being named winner of the Rise to
the Challenge: Most Accomplished Green
Building for 2014 is a great honor,” said
James Fennell, AIA, LEED-AP, architect and
urban planner at Fennell Group. “Ivywild
uses the concept of ‘symbiosis’ to create
an economic, environmental and cultural
catalyst toward revitalizing a declining
neighborhood. Having our work recognized
by this outstanding group of sustainability
leaders serves to validate our efforts. We
are excited about Ivywild’s innovations and
how these are changing the community
development industry.”
Green Dealmakers: Most Sustainable
Real Estate Company
Unico Properties
2014 was Unico Properties biggest
green building year yet, with numerous
industry-leading projects and pilots all of
which highlight the company’s ability to
simultaneously provide superior customer
service, boutique knowledge, and high
performance buildings.
"Unico strives to make a positive
contribution to the communities we serve
while delivering best-in-class management.
This award is affirmation that we're achieving
that goal in Denver,” said Adam Knoff, Senior
Sustainability Manager, Unico. “We're proud
that cost-effective, high performance buildings
are possible in a competitive and growing
market like Denver, and we are honored to
serve as a leader in that pursuit.”
Most Successful Community
Engagement
MSU Denver's SpringHill Suites
by Marriott & Hospitality
Learning Center
The public-private partnership between
MSU Denver and Sage Hospitality is a
150-suite hotel, and metro Denver’s first
LEED® Gold hotel. The hotel and HLC
earned a total of 62 LEED® points for water
efficiency, innovative design and sustainable
site and materials selection.
“As Denver’s first LEED Gold hotel,
SpringHill Suites by Marriott Denver
Downtown is honored to receive the Most
Successful Engagement Award. Developed
through a public-private partnership
between MSU Denver and Sage Hospitality,
the hotel offers a dynamic educational
environment for hospitality students.
Receiving on-the-job training from well-
seasoned hoteliers who understand the
importance of green building and practices
in today’s competitive environment is vital
to these students’ success in the hospitality
field,” said Scott Perry, General Manager,
Springhill Suites.
Greenest Building of 2014
(New or Existing)
The Wayne N. Aspinall Federal
Building and U.S. Courthouse
The U.S. General Service Administration
(GSA) set lofty high-performance energy
goals for this project making it one of the
first GSA historically registered projects to
achieve LEED Platinum Certification and
pursue an optimal goal of Net-Zero energy.
“This LEED® Platinum renovation
preserves an anchor in Grand Junction, and
converts the 1918 landmark into one of the
most energy efficient, sustainable historic
buildings in the country. Acknowledging
the federal government’s goal to be carbon-
neutral by 2030, Wayne Aspinall creates a
‘green proving ground’ demonstrating how
to potentially make an existing historic
building perform at net-zero energy, 17
years ahead of schedule,” said Jo Barr, Sr.
Associate, Director of Marketing, ME Group,
from the team that included members from
GSA, Westlake Reed Leskosky, and Beck.
Executive Director’s Award
The Alliance Center: The Alliance for
Sustainable Colorado
The Alliance Center is a founding
member of Denver’s 2030 District, houses
30+ nonprofits working on sustainability
issues, possesses an event center to bring in
sustainability thought leaders from across
the world, and aims to be Colorado’s Hub
of Sustainability, growing and uniting the
sustainability movement.
"We are thrilled to be recognized as one
of the recipients of USGBC Colorado's
First Annual Commercial Green Building
Achievement Award. For the past 10
years, The Alliance Center has showcased
innovative solutions in resource efficiency
and worked with partners such as USGBC to
promote wider adoption of high performance
building technologies. Our recent renovation
strives to go even further by adding space
design and occupant wellbeing to drive
productivity and innovation," said Anna
Zawisza, Executive Director, Alliance for
Sustainable Colorado.
The Green Building Legacy Award
Denver Place
Denver Place had the honor of being
the first Colorado building and the
seventh in the country to earn the EPA’s
ENERGY STAR Award (1999). Dozens of
renovations contributed to designation
of Colorado’s first LEED-EB Gold in
2004. It received a second LEED-EB Gold
designation in 2010.
“At LBA Realty, we strive to exceed
expectations with unmatched levels
of service and attention to detail. In
order to achieve excellence in all aspects
of business, LBA is committed to
environmental and social responsibility
while enhancing the bottom line,” noted
Tanya Leung, RPA, LEED AP O+M,
General Manager, LBA Realty. LBA Realty
was also a supporter of the Gala Awards
event.
Nomination criteria specified that
entrants must be located in the state
of Colorado, and must be active (in
operation or substantially completed)
between January 2013 and September
2014. The project must be a commercial
building (office, medical, retail, etc.) and
have green building design or operational
attributes, however LEED® certification
is not necessarily required for submission.
Finally, the project must exemplify the
vision of USGBC Colorado: “To transform
the way buildings and communities are
designed, built and operated, enabling an
environmentally and socially responsible,
healthy and prosperous environment that
improves the quality of life.”
For more information about Green
Achievers in Commercial Real Estate
award winners, visit usgbccolorado.org.
The U.S. Green Building Council
Colorado Chapter is a 501(c)(3) non-
profit organization that was established
in the state of Colorado in 2003. USGBC
Colorado was the 15th chapter to be
recognized by U.S. Green Building Council
and is part of a nationwide network of
local chapters that all contribute to the
mission of transforming the way buildings
and communities are designed, built and
operated, enabling an environmentally
and socially responsible, healthy, and
prosperous environment that improves
the quality of life. Our goal is to achieve
our mission through education, improving
industry guidelines, policy, advocacy, and
information and resourcing sharing. Visit
us online, and on Facebook and Twitter.
USGBC Colorado Announces Winners of Commercial
Green Building Achievement Awards at Gala Reception
Top row from left to right: Adam Knoff, Senior Sustainability Manager,
Unico; Scott Perry, General Manager, Springhill Suites; Pete Jefferson,
Principal / Vice President at M.E. Group, Inc. (Wayne Aspinall); James
Fennell, Architect, Ivywild School; Front row (L to R): Sharon Alton,
Executive Director, USGBC Colorado; Elaine Harkins, Facility Director,
Denver Museum; Tanya Leung, General Manager, LBA Realty (Denver
Place); Anna Zawisza, ExecutiveDirector, Alliance for SustainableColorado;
Jordan Turboff, Tenant Planning Services and CREI Awards Jury Chair
April Luxner, Marketing & Business Development Director at Ambient
Energy;LindaMorrison,PE,BEMP,CEM,LEED-AP–BuildingPerformance
Engineer Team Leader, Ambient Energy; John Powers, Board President,
Alliance for Sustainable Colorado
Jennifer Elling, Energy Efficiency Portfolio Manager, Xcel Energy; Dana
Kose, Program Manager, The Weidt Group; Mandy Redfield, PE, LEED
AP BD+C, Mechanical Engineer at M.E. GROUP; Michael McNeill, Design
& Build, McNeill Construction
Anna Zawisza, Executive Director, Alliance for Sustainable Colorado;
Jason Page, Alliance Center Director, Alliance for Sustainable Colorado;
Megan Stribling, Events and Community Engagement Manager,
Alliance for Sustainable Colorado
Courtney McCoy, Marketing Coordinator, M.E. Group; Laura Barrett, MS,
LEED AP BD+C, Sustainable Design Consultant at Group14 Engineering;
Jo Barr, Sr. Associate, Director of Marketing, M.E. Group; Jeffrey Visnic,
Vice President, M.E. Group
Steve Kreidler, Vice President of Administration, Finance and Facilities
at Metropolitan State University of Denver; Steve Galpern, Director of
Development at Metropolitan State University of Denver; Anne V. Frye,
director of sales and marketing, SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown
at MSU Denver; Scott Perry, General Manager, SpringHill Suites Denver
Downtown at MSU Denver
