Colorado Real Estate Journal - December 17, 2014

USGBC Colorado Announces Winners of Commercial Green Building Achievement Awards at Gala Reception

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On December 3rd, USGBC Coloradonamed 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 wellseasoned 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) nonprofit 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.