Phoenix Office Tower Earns LEED® for Existing Building – Operations and Maintenance certification

July 13, 2012

2800 Tower, a 21-story, 364.5k sf office tower in Midtown Phoenix, has achieved LEED® for Existing Building – Operations and Maintenance certification, ending a one-year chase for the prestigious sustainability prize from the U.S. Green Building Council. The building, located at 2800 Central Ave, is owned by Gaedeke Group LLC.
    
The certification required a number of upgrades aimed at water and energy savings, low-water landscaping, sustainable purchasing policies, waste stream management, environmentally preferred products and electronic waste recycling at the building.

Gaedeke also achieved earned LEED – EB for its 195.7k sf building at 1310 G. St in Washington D.C., the third certification for the company’s 3 msf portfolio. The first property to achieve the milestone was One McKinney Plaza in Uptown Dallas in 2010 as part of Gaedeke Group's investment of more than $6 mil into a redesign and renovation, inside and out.

Dan S. Yates, RPA, Southwest regional manager and green programs officer for Dallas-based Gaedeke Group, says the mission is to secure LEED certification for as many office buildings in the 14-property class A portfolio as possible. "Some buildings we know won't meet the criteria, but most in our portfolio are very good candidates for LEED," he says.

Yates adds that green initiatives have been and continue to be implemented portfolio-wide, regardless of a particular building's LEED chances, because Gaedeke is a good steward of its properties and the environment. The owner's deep commitment has resulted in continued high marks from tenants in all of its markets in an annual team performance and building operations survey. Thirteen of Gaedeke's 14 buildings carry Energy Star certification and four, including 2800 Tower, hold BOMA 360 Performance designations.

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