Thru the Lens: 2010 Green Street Awards

Mitsui Fudosan America, Inc.'s 1251 Avenue of the Americas has been honored by the Avenue of the Americas Association, earning a prestigious 2010 Green Street Award in the category of Energy Efficiency/Sustainability Projects, Buildings over 1 million s/f. The award was presented this month at the association's 84th Annual Gala. "This is truly an honor," says Christopher N. Perez, senior vice president of Mitsui Fudosan America. "Sustainability is more than a 'buzzword'—it is a fact of business life today. We are very pleased that our efforts at 1251 Avenue of the Americas, our flagship property, have been recognized and honored by our peers." Constructed in 1971, the 54-story Class A building encompasses nearly 2.5 million square feet at Rockefeller Center, between 49th and 50th streets. The sustainability/energy efficiency project for which the property was recognized entailed retrofitting more than 1,600 lighting fixtures in building common areas, earning estimated savings of approximately 380,000 KWH with a 2.5-year payback. The project also included the introduction of a bulb-recycling program in an effort to reduce mercury impact on landfills. "As representatives of the ownership, we are very proud of this achievement," says David A. Falk, New York Tri-State Region president and a principal of Newmark Knight Frank. Falk and his Newmark Knight Frank team of Peter T. Shimkin, Romel Canete and Nick Berger, have represented the ownership for over 17 years. For more than 80 years, the Avenue of the Americas Association has worked with businesses to preserve, protect and enhance the avenue as a prime business address. The Association addresses the need for improvements and acts as an intermediary with government agencies and officials. "The Green Street Awards Program is in its second year and more and more building owners and tenants along the Sixth Avenue corridor are recognizing its importance as a way of promoting completed environmental sustainability projects," said Andrew Gottesman, chairperson of the association and principal of The Hippodrome Building. "This initiative prompts companies along the Avenue to share their success stories and help make our midtown neighborhood as green as possible." "We continue to explore ways and means of fostering sustainability and energy efficiency all across our portfolio," says Perez. "Our efforts at 1251 Avenue of the Americas have set a new benchmark for what can be done to make all existing buildings more efficient and more sensitive to the environment."