Feb 25 2014
Rising Realty Partners (RRP) announced today that its PacMutual Campus (PacMutual) in Downtown Los Angeles has received a LEED® E-B Platinum certification, the highest attainable level, by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
The ranking was under the Existing Buildings (E-B) rating system. Originally constructed in 1908 with additions in 1921 and 1926, PacMutual is the oldest building in Southern California to be LEED Platinum certified. The campus is only the sixth building in the City of Los Angeles, and the city’s only historic building, to receive LEED E-B Platinum certification.
“We wanted to show that a building’s age wasn’t a limiting factor towards achieving a high-level of sustainability,” said Nelson Rising, RRP CEO. Rising is credited with introducing new urbanism principles to Los Angeles through the planning of Playa Vista in the late 1980s.
PacMutual is a 460,000 sf campus of three interconnected buildings: Sentry Building (1921), Clock Building (1908), and Carriage House (1926) encompassing one city block in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. PacMutual is a recognized local landmark and was designated as a City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 398 in 1982. RRP purchased the campus in May of 2012 and has since embarked on a massive building renovation. Focusing on an open office interior architecture, the campus has attracted numerous new tenants to the building including the headquarters of e-commerce site Nasty Gal and the Oscar winning visual effects firm Magnopus.
"This thoughtful reinvestment in downtown Los Angeles shows great respect by Rising Realty Partners for the region’s precious natural and historic resources,” said Mark Huppert, Senior Director of the Preservation Green Lab at the National Trust for Historic Preservation based in Seattle, WA. “In fact, Los Angeles seems to be leading the nation in breathing new life into old buildings. PacMutual’s tenants are joining a growing wave of corporate citizens who are the driving force behind this urban renaissance."
The LEED green building rating system—developed and administered by the USGBC, is designed to promote design, construction, and operational practices that increase profitability while reducing negative environmental impacts of buildings and improving occupant health and well-being. LEED certification involves a rigorous third-party commissioning process and is the recognized standard for measuring building sustainability.
"The Conservancy’s office is in the PacMutual building, so we’ve been able to watch firsthand as Rising Realty Partners pursued both preservation and LEED Platinum certification. This project clearly illustrates that preservation and sustainability go hand in hand. It’s a great achievement, and it’s a great model for historic places throughout Los Angeles," said Linda Dishman, Executive Director of the LA Conservancy.
PacMutual earned 81 LEED points out of 81 attempted and rated in the 91st percentile for energy efficiency among similar sized office buildings. The building offsets 100 percent of the energy it consumes through purchasing renewable energy credits, while indoor water use is reduced 32 percent compared to a national baseline. Centrally located to public transportation, 63 percent of building tenants travel to work using an alternative form of transportation, including walking, biking, public transportation, carpooling, or driving a fuel efficient car.
Other determining factors included:
- The high recycling rates for ongoing consumables, electronic waste, and construction and demolition waste.
- PacMutual’s strong focus on indoor environmental quality, including comprehensive green cleaning program, indoor air quality improvement program, no use of any pesticides not considered least-toxic, low mercury and energy efficient lighting, and high percentages of workspaces with views to the outside
- The 100 percent offset of the land used by the building by protecting natural habitat off-site through a land conservation program.
- All building outdoor areas, including patios and courtyards, and 25-feet from all entrances, are entirely smoke-free.
“We are proud of the work Executive Vice President Reed Garwood, Associate Asset Manager Thomas Lasseau, and our team, has put into making this building one of the most sustainable in the City,” said Christopher Rising, RRP President and COO. “The results speak for themselves and this award is a validation of our team’s efforts to reposition buildings for both the benefit of our tenants as well as the public.”