1095 Avenue of the Americas Gets LEED recognition After All, Thanks to LEED-CI MetLife Offices

1095 Avenue of the Americas is a fascinating, half-baffling part of New York's green scene -- either sublimely Buddha-nature or just plain lazy or something else entirely, it's a tough building to figure. The Blackstone Group, which owns 1095 Avenue of the Americas, put the place through a $408.9 million facelift, with the result being a newly attractive and very green office tower. And yet, despite being located across the street from a natural rival in the LEED Platinum showcase that is the Bank of America Building, the Blackstone Group declined to pursue any green recognition for the onetime Verizon Building. Which, you know, good for them. Go your own way, The Blackstone Group/1095 Avenue of the Americas. But while 1095 has recently had a notably hard time of it rent-wise, a half-ironic chapter of 1095's history has belatedly been written. Despite Blackstone's blow-off during the renovation, 1095 has finally earned LEED recognition thanks to MetLife receiving LEED-CI certification for its 300,000 square-foot office at 1095.

Steve has followed 1095's travails for years here at gbNYC, and the building's recent struggles to get rents at a price even remotely like what Blackstone expected (initial asking prices were $135 per square foot) led DP to dub it, just a few months ago, "a relic of a distant market, notwithstanding its significant green upgrades that attracted many high-profile and deep-pocketed tenants to it in the first place." A LEED certification would almost certainly do nothing about that -- it's just a tough time to be an office tower right now, if you can swallow the ontological weirdness of buildings having good or bad times, period -- but it has always seemed sort of strange that Blackstone seemed so determined to keep 1095's many green elements a secret. At any rate, the spot is blown.

MetLife has long had a laudable commitment to efficiency as part of its corporate culture -- their Long Island City offices won LEED-EB Silver honors back in April, and 11 of the company's buildings have earned EnergyStar recognition. They've also made some impressive strides in cutting emissions, using "non-carbon" power and et cetera, and will gladly tell you about it at their website. So while it's still good news, it's not necessarily surprising to find out that MetLife's LEED-CI buildout included 32% recycled material or features energy-efficient lighting, EnergyStar appliances, eco-friendly carpet or anything else. Someway, somehow, it seemed that some green recognition or other was destined to be conferred on 1095 Avenue of the Americas. We may never know why it took so long, but that day is here.