« Back to Facilities Management News Home
Costa Mesa, Calif. — June 2, 2015 — South Coast Plaza – Office Division has earned the first two LEED Platinum certifications in Orange County at its Park Tower and Plaza Tower buildings.
LEED Platinum is the highest LEED level attainable. The Park Tower and Plaza Tower buildings are the first commercial buildings in Orange County to earn this prestigious certification. The South Coast Plaza – Office Division buildings were the first in California to be certified Gold under LEED EB:O&M in 2009.
When Park Tower, Plaza Tower, and Center Tower were up for recertification in 2014, the building management team knew it wanted to improve the buildings’ sustainability, while maintaining productive and healthy workplace environments for occupants and tenants.
The Office Division approached Healthy Buildings to manage the LEED recertification process. The buildings now boast a combined water reduction from baseline of 2,794,430 gallons per year, and are projected to realize an 81 percent reduction in conventional commuting trips. The buildings also sponsor the protection and restoration of 180,000 square feet of open habitat.
In addition, both Park Tower and Plaza Tower implemented solutions such as toilet retrofits, using reclaimed water for landscaping, and offsetting 75 percent of energy use with renewable energy credits.
Healthy Buildings’ core purpose is to make buildings and the organizations that operate them more valuable. It does this by increasing building efficiency and savings through LEED programs and certifications, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) assessments, and energy and water reviews.
