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8-K - HINES REIT LEED CERTIFICAATION - HINES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST INC | hrleedcertification8-k.htm |
News
Release
For Immediate Release | |
November 24, 2009 | For Further Information Contact: |
George Lancaster, Hines | |
713-966-7676 | |
george.lancaster@hines.com |
HINES’ HEADQUARTERS AWARDED
LEED® GOLD
Iconic Williams Tower
Transformed into a Beacon of Green
(HOUSTON) – The
Houston office of Hines, the international real estate firm, announced today
that its iconic headquarters building, Williams Tower, has received Gold
certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® for
Existing Buildings Rating System.
Williams
Tower is a 1.5 million-square-foot, 64-story office building that was developed
by Hines in 1982 and has been managed and leased by Hines
since. Designed by Philip Johnson/John Burgee, the tower was once the
largest building in the world outside of a downtown area.
Challenging
traditional assumptions about skyscrapers, Williams Tower has demonstrated
excellent energy efficiency, as reflected in its recognition by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. With six ENERGY STAR®
labels and a current ENERGY STAR rating of 85, the building is 34 percent more
energy efficient and annually saves $1.33 per square foot in energy costs when
compared to the national average office building. This translates
into greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to removing 2,125 cars from the
road.
Hines’
property management team recently took the building through the LEED
certification process, implementing a series of retrofits and building upgrades
to meet rising tenant expectations for high-performing, sustainable office
space.
Ford
Hubbard, marketing director of HOK Houston, which has been a tenant in the tower
since 1996, said, “As with architectural quality, Hines was a pioneer among
commercial developers for its early adoption of sustainable construction and
operations practices. The LEED Gold certification validates that the
strategies Hines has espoused for decades really do work—and this is, in part,
what has kept HOK in this building for so long.”
Green
features and programs include: reduction in indoor potable water use through
low-flow fixtures; heat island reduction through reflective surfaces;
environmentally sensitive cleaning products; a comprehensive recycling and waste
diversion program; green build-out guidelines for tenants; and the
implementation of a comprehensive and ongoing retro-commissioning program, among
other things.
Hines
President Jeffrey C. Hines said, “Reflecting our firm’s guiding principles—which
state that we will strive to be the industry leader in sustainability—the
certification of our headquarters is symbolic of the commitment we have to green
our entire portfolio and to deliver the highest quality to tenants, owners and
investors.”
Williams
Tower is leased to a number of world class companies, including: Citi, Hines,
HOK, Rowan Companies, Van Kampen Investments, Wachovia, and Williams, among
others.
Consistent
with its approach to enhance long-term investment value, building owner Hines
Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. (Hines REIT) is implementing energy
conservation measures and is pursuing LEED certification on a number of
properties in its portfolio. Hines REIT is also active in the ENERGY
STAR program, with interests in 45 buildings that have earned the
label. As a result of its efforts, Hines REIT is a two-time winner of
the NAREIT Leader in the Light award (at the Gold and Bronze levels), which is
given to member companies that have demonstrated superior and sustained energy
use practices.
Hines has
secured LEED certifications for six Houston properties, totaling approximately
six million square feet. Globally Hines is responsible for 145
projects, representing more than 89 million square feet that have been
certified, pre-certified or registered under the various LEED rating
systems. Hines was a founding member of the German Sustainable
Building Council, and is active in the BRE Environmental Assessment Method
program in the United Kingdom and the Haute Qualité Environnementale program in
France.
In 2009
Hines was recognized by the EPA, for the second time, with the ENERGY STAR
Sustained Excellence Award; Hines has 138 buildings, representing approximately
77 million square feet, that have earned the ENERGY STAR
label. Twelve Hines development or redevelopment projects,
representing more than six million square feet, have been designated as Designed
to Earn the ENERGY STAR.
Hines is
a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment,
development and property management worldwide. The firm’s historical and current
portfolio of projects that are underway, completed, acquired and managed for
third parties includes 1,111 properties representing more than 449 million
square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and
sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land
developments. Hines has offices in more than 100 cities in 17 countries
and controls assets valued at approximately $22.9 billion. Visit
www.hines.com for more information. To learn more about
sustainability at Hines, visit www.hines.com/sustainability.
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