315 Park Avenue South - New York, NYNew York, NY According to Columbia Property Trust, Inc., 315 Park Ave. South, its class A office tower located in Midtown South, has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star certification, which signifies that the building performs in the top 25% of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meets strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA.
Additionally, 315 Park Ave. South has received a Wired Certified Platinum rating from WiredScore, which recognizes the property as best-in-class across all features of connectivity.
Shortly after acquiring the beaux-arts style building in January of 2015, Columbia embarked on a capital improvement project to further modernize the 20-story, 330,000 s/f office building, including a reimagined entrance on 24th St., new lobby, redesigned retail façade and a host of upgrades to the mechanical systems and other infrastructure. Columbia also brought in Manhattan-based L&L Holding Company to help execute the capital improvement and overall leasing programs by providing property management and leasing services for the building.
“Since acquiring 315 Park Ave. South, our intent has been to cultivate a best-in-class building that could fully capitalize on its prime Midtown South location,” said Nelson Mills, president and CEO of Columbia. “Improvements to the building’s efficiency and overall performance have been a major part of this initiative, and we are pleased to receive these validations for our efforts.”
To earn the Energy Star certification, Columbia and L&L Holding conducted a comprehensive audit of the energy consumption of the property, determining where operational improvements could be made. Based on the results, the building team increased efficiency by optimizing HVAC usage based on outside air temperature and occupancy, as well as the installation of double-paned windows and other system control improvements.
Energy Star was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Commercial buildings that earn EPA’sEnergy Star certification use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
WiredScore operates the first and only connectivity rating platform for commercial buildings across the United States and the United Kingdom. The platform collects information about the internet connectivity and infrastructure of commercial buildings, and then rates and benchmarks them. Wired Certified Platinum is the highest rating possible and confirms 315 Park Avenue South as exceptional across all features of connectivity including number and quality of internet service providers, redundancy and resiliency of telecom infrastructure, ease of installation and capacity to readily support new telecom services.
Constructed in 1911, 315 Park Avenue South previously underwent a major renovation in 2007. Notable tenants at the property include Credit Suisse, Oracle America, and Equinox. Winton Capital Management also recently signed a lease to occupy the top two floors of the building.