Century-Old 14 Wall Street Earns 2008 Energy Star Designation from EPA

Regardless of your perspective, it's critical to keep in mind that the most sustainable of buildings is the existing building, particularly when retrofitted for energy efficiency improvements and other green enhancements. Capstone Equities and The Carlyle Group's 14 Wall Street- which dates from 1912- recently earned a 2008 Energy Star award. The 37-story tower, which stands along Nassau Street between Wall and Pine, across from the New York Stock Exchange, was designed by Trowbridge & Livingston and was designated as a New York City landmark in 1997. 14 Wall was formerly known as the Bankers Trust Company Building and the 31st floor was once J.P. Morgan's apartment. The tower came close to turning into residential condos back in 2004. There are now twenty commercial buildings in New York City that have received the Energy Star designation from EPA, including Cass Gilbert's New York Life Insurance Building at 51 Madison Avenue.

14 Wall Street now uses approximately 35 percent less energy than peer commercial buildings thanks to a number of efficiency initiatives and ongoing energy consumption monitoring. CB Richard Ellis is the tower's exclusive leasing and managing agent, and current tenants include the Newman Fitch law firm and SOM. As we've discussed previously here at gbNYC, in order to participate in Energy Star, eligible commercial buildings must earn a score of 75 on a scale of 1-100 that's relative to other buildings in the U.S. The comparison is made to a statistical model of building energy use that's compiled every four years by the Department of Energy. An Energy Star building with a rating of 75 performs better than 75 percent of its peer buildings as determined by the survey. Applications are submitted online and require supporting building and energy use information. Energy Star ratings are awarded each year and EPA periodically reviews labeled buildings in order to ensure performance.

• 14 Wall Gets Energy Star Rating (PR)
• 5 Manhattan Properties Earn Energy Star Rating (gbNYC)