LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Brookfield Office Properties announced today that its Bank of America Plaza office tower in Los Angeles has achieved the prestigious LEED EB:OM (Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED certification signifies environmental excellence in real estate in five key areas: carbon emissions reduction, water efficiency, energy savings, sustainable materials selection and indoor air quality. Bank of America Plaza is an iconic, 55-story office tower located in the Bunker Hill section of downtown L.A. The building is 95% leased. “The LEED certification process was truly a collaborative effort between Brookfield staff and our accommodating tenants,” said Robert Cushman, Brookfield’s vice president of Operations for the Southern California region. “The fact that innovative, sustainable methods and technologies have been instituted into a building that is 36 years old makes this feat all the more impressive.” Some of the features and systems upgrades that helped Bank of America Plaza achieve LEED certification include: -A new cogeneration plant which lowers energy demand charges and utilizes waste heat for cooling; -Indoor and outdoor water efficiency that resulted in a 22% reduction in water consumption; -Indoor air quality enhancement through a new EMS (Energy Management System) and efficient HVAC system ventilation filtration utilizing 100% use of outside air for cooling; -High-efficiency lighting systems and occupancy sensors; -Use of sustainable cleaning products, materials and procedures; -A new garage carbon monitoring system to ensure proper ventilation; and -Education guidelines for tenants on utilization of sustainable renovation materials and practices both in operations and tenant construction. Prior to achieving LEED certification, the building had received the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR award every year since 2006, and currently has an ENERGY STAR score of 92 out of 100.
