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Page 18 — COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL — July 1-July 14, 2015
Golden office building
wins national EPA challenge
Sixth Avenue West, a
124,504-square-foot office build-
ing in Golden, was awarded
first place in the Environmental
Protection Agency’s 2014 Energy
Star National Building Competi-
tion, Transwestern announced.
The building ranked No. 1 in
the office category after reduc-
ing its water consumption by 75
percent and saving $170,438. The
building took third place in over-
all water reduction in the compe-
tition. Transwestern announced
that three of its managed prop-
erties – Sixth Avenue West and
two properties in Chicago –
received honors. The program
involved more than 500 build-
ings across the country compet-
ing to improve energy and water
efficiency.
“We are excited that our water
conservation tools and manage-
ment capabilities earned top hon-
ors in the office category for our
client,” said Al Skodowski, Tran-
swestern managing senior vice
president and director of LEED
and sustainability services.
In its fifth year, the competi-
tion featured teams from across
the country that competed to
improve energy and water effi-
ciency, lower utility costs and
protect the environment. Togeth-
er, competitors cut energy costs
bymore than $50 million, accord-
ing to the EPA, which unveiled
the final results.
The competition measured
energy and water performance
over the entire 2014 calendar
year. Competitors tracked their
building’s monthly energy
and water consumption using
Energy Star Portfolio Manager,
EPA’s online energy and water
measurement and tracking tool.
An independently licensed pro-
fessional engineer or registered
architect verified the energy- and
water-use reductions for each top
finisher at the conclusion of the
competition.
According to the EPA, ener-
gy use in commercial buildings
accounts for nearly 20 percent of
total U.S. greenhouse gas emis-
sions and energy consumption,
at a cost of more than $100 billion
per year. On average, 30 percent
of the energy used in commercial
buildings is wasted.s
Katie Kier was selected
as the new Denver manage-
ment assistant for the Griffis/
Blessing Commercial Prop-
erty Services Group. Kier
will be assisting Dora Fessler
with the day-to-day opera-
tions of a 283,407-square-
foot, five-building portfolio
consisting of retail and office
buildings.
“We are excited to add
Katie Kier to the Griffis/
Blessing commercial man-
agement team,” said Rick
Davidson, CPM, senior vice
president, Commercial Prop-
erty Services. “Her strong
background in property
management has honed her
attention to detail, customer
service,
and com-
munica-
tion skills,
making her
an excel-
lent asset
to Griffis/
Blessing
and the
Denver
office.”
Previously, Kier worked
for ACF Property Manage-
ment in Denver.s
Rick Merkel joined KPM
Property Services as its
operations and business
development manager.
Merkel has more than 30
years of
profession-
al property
manage-
ment
experience
with retail
shopping
centers, as
well as con-
struction
management and facilities
operations.
He served 10 years in the
U.S. Air Force and for the
last eight years was a region-
al property manager for DDR
Inc., a national shopping
center real estate investment
trust.s
Katie Kier Rick Merkel
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