Colorado Real Estate Journal - July 1, 2015
Sixth Avenue West, a 124,504-square-foot office building in Golden, was awarded first place in the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2014 Energy Star National Building Competition, Transwestern announced. The building ranked No. 1 in the office category after reducing its water consumption by 75 percent and saving $170,438. The building took third place in overall water reduction in the competition. Transwestern announced that three of its managed properties – Sixth Avenue West and two properties in Chicago – received honors. The program involved more than 500 buildings across the country competing to improve energy and water efficiency. “We are excited that our water conservation tools and management capabilities earned top honors in the office category for our client,” said Al Skodowski, Transwestern managing senior vice president and director of LEED and sustainability services. In its fifth year, the competition featured teams from across the country that competed to improve energy and water efficiency, lower utility costs and protect the environment. Together, competitors cut energy costs by more than $50 million, according 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 professional 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, energy use in commercial buildings accounts for nearly 20 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 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.