Hines Gets World’s Highest LEED Platinum Rating in San Francisco
Hines took its building at 101 California St. in San Francisco from green to greenest, environmentally speaking, when its property was named to both LEED Platinum status and to the honor of having the highest score in the Existing Buildings category worldwide.
October 12, 2011
By Nicholas Ziegler, News Editor
Hines took its building at 101 California St. in San Francisco from green to greenest, environmentally speaking. Its 1982-vintage, 48-story high rise was first certified under the LEED EB, or existing building, category in 2009 – but this year, it took its dedication to environmentally sound practices even further when it was certified both as LEED Platinum and as the structure with the highest score in its category worldwide.
“To get a score of 94 [LEED credits], we looked at every single credit to determine how, not if, we could achieve our goal,” Tom Kruggel, Hines’ senior vice president of operations, said, further noting that the platinum project was a 10-month undertaking.
Located in the city’s financial district, 101 California was originally developed by Hines, and is still managed by the same – in conjunction with NLI Properties West, Inc. The building is more than 93 percent leased to a tenant roster than includes Cooley L.L.P., Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. With its energy-efficient footprint, the property is $1.45 less expensive per square foot in terms of energy consumption when compared to the average U.S. office building, according to Hines.
In order to reach the 94-point rating, the on-site team implemented new initiatives, including making plant fertilizer on site, installing new building showers and placing charging stations for electric cars in the garage. “We currently have two electric vehicle charging stations that are used four to six times per month,” David Koch, Hines’ director of property management, said, “although we expect usage to escalate as more electronic vehicles are purchased.”
A recent study by CBRE Group, Inc. found a direct relationship between property demand and LEED status. The firm found that, on data for 150 buildings over three years, LEED certified properties showed a 3.1 percent improvement in both rental rates and building occupancy when compared to the general market. Further, 19 percent of tenant respondents reported increased productivity and 94 percent of tenant managers found higher employee satisfaction in green office space.
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