LEED for Core and Shell

Developer LCOR announced yesterday that its 17-story gut rehab of 545 Madison Avenue has earned Gold certification from USGBC under the LEED for Core and Shell rating system; according to USGBC, this is the 27th LEED Gold certification rating in New York City to date. The renovations, which were executed by Bovis and designed by New York City-based Moed de Armas & Shannon Architects, contemplated stripping the 140,000-square-foot tower down to its structural frame (which qualified it for Core and Shell consideration) and installing a floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall and high-performance HVAC, electrical, and mechanical systems. Other green features that supported LCOR's LEED-CS Gold application include low-VOC materials, FSC-certified wood products, and post-industrial and post-consumer recycled steel, carpeting, gypsum wall board, and insulation. Individual offices boast their own thermal controls and 93 percent of interior spaces receive natural daylight. Bathrooms feature efficient plumbing fixtures and the tower includes a number of unspecified renewable power installations.

Only three industrial projects in New Jersey are currently pursuing LEED certification, two of which are in the Newark area and owned by Pantheon Properties. The third is currently available for lease outside of Princeton in the New Jersey Turnpike Exit 8A submarket. Called the Middlesex Intermodal Center, the 583,000-square-foot warehouse is located in South Brunswick and was recently purchased by New York City-based Blackrock for $42.5 million - around $73 per square foot from developers JG Petrucci Co. and F. Greek Development. The warehouse, which occupies approximately 44 acres, includes a number of green design features, including a reflective roof and efficient lighting. It was precertified Silver under the LEED for Core and Shell system and Blackrock continues to pursue a formal Silver rating under LEED for New Construction as the property hits market now that construction is complete.

An interesting adaptive reuse project is underway over in Montclair, New Jersey. Designed by Sionas Architecture and built by Jack Finn & Company for owner Cadbury Properties , GreenWorks on Grove will convert the site of a former gas station into a three-unit speculative commercial retail building at 100 Grove Street in suburban Montclair. The project is applying for a Silver rating under USGBC's LEED for Core and Shell system; tenants who choose to build their spaces out under LEED for Commercial Interiors will find each outfitted with individual electricity submeters, which should allow for a true implementation of green leases across the board. The building is located less than a half mile from the direct New Jersey Transit train to Midtown and will offer tenants access to bicycle racks and changing rooms. Other green core and shell features include high-performance glass, insulation, and HVAC systems, as well as building-integrated photovoltaics (supplying up to 20 percent of the development's power) and native landscaping. Renée Realty serves as the project's leasing agent.

Currently under development by Tishman Speyer, the $316 million Gotham Center will be a 662,000-square-foot, 21-story Class A office building at the corner of Queens Plaza and 28th Street in Long Island City. Mayor Bloomberg and other officials announced the project's groundbreaking last Friday, noting that it will join a number of other green projects in the neighborhood, including the LEED Gold-certified, KPF-designed Court Square Two.

The tower was designed by architects Moed De Armas & Shannon (510 Madison Avenue, 1095 Sixth Avenue) and is pursuing a LEED Certified rating under the Core and Shell system. The project's interiors- which will ultimately be home to the New York City Health Department after the agency consolidates most of its offices in lower Manhattan- will aim for LEED Silver.