The pre-builts on the 53rd and 75th floors at the Empire State Building have obtained certifications of LEED Interior Design and Construction (ID+C) Gold, according to Anthony Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings, which supervises the property.
LEED ID+C is the newest version of what was previously known as LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED CI), the benchmark for interior fit-out performance. It is the recognized system for certifying high-performance green interiors that are healthy, productive places to work, are less costly to operate and maintain, and have a reduced environmental footprint.
Among the features of the Empire State Building pre-builts that led to the LEED Gold rating are: sustainable finishes, sub-metered electric, an abundance of natural light throughout from glass-walled offices and conference rooms to perimeter offices and workspaces, Energy Star designer appliances (Subzero, Miele and Bosch), tenant-controlled HVAC, and Lutron Electronics' occupancy/vacancy sensors that turn lights off when spaces are unoccupied and dimming controls that adjust light levels based on available daylight.
"While our pre-built program will continue to be built to these same standards, it is no longer possible to achieve LEED ratings for unoccupied spaces. The expense and disruption to tenants is not worth certification once the spaces are tenanted. Our remaining pre-built units on floors 31, 65 and 69 meet the LEED ID+C Gold standard," said Malkin. "This is also the standard for our pre-builts under construction and planned for the future within the eight other buildings in the W&H Properties portfolio."
Tenants who have leased the LEED ID+C Gold pre-builts at the Empire State Building include: Turkish Airlines, law firm Napoli Bern Ripka, X5 Music Label, the Peter Lampack Publishing Agency, Helios Matheson Information Technology, and the Alberleen Group, a financial services firm.
"The W&H pre-builts program has been an unqualified success for us. Attaining LEED Gold status for these spaces helps us not only to fulfill our energy-efficiency goals, but also our leasing targets," notes Mr. Malkin. "Tenants love our pre-builts because they provide healthy working environments that improve employee productivity, and eliminate the hassles of a build-out."

About The Empire State Building

Soaring 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan, the Empire State Building is the World's Most Famous Office Building. With new investments in energy-efficiency, building-wide infrastructure upgrades, public areas and amenities totaling more than $550 million, the Empire State Building has attracted and continues to attract corporate office tenants in a diverse array of industries from around the world.
The Empire State Building also has taken a leading role in sustainability, partnering with the Clinton Climate Initiative, Rocky Mountain Institute, Johnson Controls and Jones Lang LaSalle to develop an innovative process for a comprehensive energy efficiency retrofit program that will reduce the building's total energy consumption by 38% and that has led the building to receive an Energy Star rating of 80, placing it in the top 20% in energy efficiency among all buildings measured under the Energy Star program. The energy retrofit program that contributed to the Energy Star designation was also an important element in receiving the LEED-EB Gold certification from the United States Green Building Council.
The Empire State Building's upgrades - planned and completed - include a comprehensive restoration of the Art Deco lobby and ceiling, along with the creation of four dedicated tenant entrances, visitor desk and access control, messenger center, new restrooms, air-conditioned public corridors, brand-new Otis Destination Dispatch Control elevators, new marble elevator cabs, 6,500 windows rebuilt on site for greater energy efficiency, improvements to the building-wide mechanical and electrical systems, and improved security systems.
The flagship of the W&H Properties' Pre-War Trophy office portfolio, the Empire State Building is supervised by Malkin Holdings LLC, one of New York City's most financially stable ownerships. High-end pre-built office suites are available throughout the building, along with fully white-boxed partial and full floors ready for tenant build-out from 10,000 square feet, and a contiguous large block of up to 163,000 square feet. Broker commissions are paid in full at lease signing.
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08/17/12 Tags: