The Burns Co. handles LEED-EB v2.0 Silver certifcation project

The Burns Cos. orchestrated a LEED certification project at 135 West 50th St. The Burns Cos. acted as the owner's representative and led a team of property managers, engineers, contractors, and green technology specialists to investigate and organize operations at the building to meet LEED requirements. The building received a LEED-EB v2.0 Silver Certification including an Energy Star score of 72. At the time of the certification, this building was one out of only five buildings in the city to achieve this LEED status. Using the results of a retro-commissioning energy study, several improvements were made including reducing water consumption by 10%, diverting 70% of building waste from landfills, and the utilization of air filters with a MERV 14 rating to improve air quality. The certification represents the property's exemplary ranking in credits for public transportation, development density, and occupant recycling as well. The project cost was undisclosed. "Meeting USGBC LEED standards for this building had its challenges," said Andrew Burns, president of The Burns Cos. "There's always some skepticism when explaining costs and benefits of the certification process to ownership, but with funding help from NYSERDA, we were able to conduct a full retro-commissioning energy study that produced excellent results in reducing energy costs. Another successful component of this effort was the Green Education Program which continues to increase awareness on the part of occupants and management to be more aware of their green footprint." "Getting this LEED certification was an important milestone," said Stu Feinberg, director at UBS Realty Investors and asset manager for the property. "The retro-commissioning energy study funded by NYSERDA proved to be very worthwhile for the upgrade process, it identified the key areas that needed to be a dressed for better energy performance. Andy Burns and the entire project team were instrumental in helping this property achieve the LEED-EB v.20 Silver Status, and we will be evaluating other properties that would benefit from a similar upgrade." LEED-EB v2.0 - Silver project highlights: * Achieved ENERGY STAR score of 72 * Extensive access to public transportation * Green building exterior management practices * Reduced potable water by 10% over EPA 1992 standards * Conducted a retro-commissioning energy study to help increase energy efficiency and reduce energy costs * Thorough preventive maintenance program * Extensive ozone protection through active management of refrigerants * Powered by Green-e energy for electricity * Diverted over 70% of building waste from landfill * Sustainable purchasing of office materials, green cleaning paper products, and light bulbs * 85% efficiency (MERV 14) air filters to provide proper indoor air quality * 50% of office spaces have lighting controllability * High performance green cleaning featuring Green Seal certified cleaning products, equipment and pest management * Exemplary performance in public transportation, development density, and occupant recycling Project partners on 135 West 50th St. include: Owner's representative, The Burns Cos.; building manager, Murray Hill Properties (MHP); LEED consultant, CodeGreen Solutions; retro-commissioning agent, Dome-Tech Group; green cleaning, First Quality Maintenance; and recycling vendor, IESI.