Akridge-Managed Union Square Buildings Earn LEED Certification

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The two office buildings that comprise the Union Square campus, at 899 and 999 North Capitol Street, NE, have both received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification following a two-year assessment and implementation process.  Comprehensive real estate services firm Akridge, manager of the properties, and property owner CIM Group decided to pursue LEED status in 2008, after the buildings had earned Energy Star recognition. Akridge proceeded to improve the properties' lighting, plumbing and cooling systems, increasing building efficiency and resulting in the award of LEED EB (Existing Building) Silver certification for both addresses.

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"Akridge is committed to top of the line, proactive property management, which includes making every effort to reduce the carbon footprint of our entire portfolio," said Kathryn L. Barnes, Senior Vice President of Akridge. "We pursued and achieved LEED certification at Union Square by making important upgrades that benefit our building Clients as well as the environment."

In the heart of DC's emerging NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue) neighborhood, Union Square's two buildings were constructed in 1969 and 1973, and previously renovated in 1999. Both are undergoing additional renovations, and each represents approximately 300,000 square feet of rentable space. The DC Department of Health recently leased half of 899 North Capitol. Specific initiatives undertaken as part of the LEED certification process included installation of new plumbing fixtures, lighting fixtures and air filters, as well as improvements to the buildings' chillers, introduction of green cleaning practices and implementation of enhanced recycling programs. Akridge and CIM retained the Leonardo Academy to perform the original LEED assessment and to consult on the certification process.

About Akridge

Akridge is a comprehensive commercial real estate services company that provides acquisition, development, construction management, asset management, property management, leasing and consulting services. Since 1999, Akridge has won ten national "best in the industry" awards for Client satisfaction from the industry's foremost benchmarking firm, CEL & Associates. The Akridge organization has been honored with the National Capital Business Ethics Award, awarded by the Society of Financial Service Professionals, and has also been recognized as an Energy Star Top Performer and Partner of the Year. For more information, please visit www.akridge.com.

About CIM Group

CIM Group is a premier real estate fund manager that makes private equity and/or debt investments in urban communities throughout North America, utilizing its full array of investment and operational expertise to maximize returns while mitigating risks. With offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Bethesda, and New York. CIM has three distinct portfolios each diversified by geography and property type. They include: Opportunistic or repositioning and development projects in established and emerging urban areas, Stabilized/Core or well-positioned operating properties in transitional districts, and Infrastructure or properties serving the public interest.  Once involved in a qualified community, CIM seeks to make additional investments in order to support the growth of the community and enhance the economic expansion of the area and the value of its previous investments. For more information, please visit cimgroup.com.

About the Leonardo Academy

Leonardo Academy provides comprehensive sustainability services that help companies and organizations understand, quantify, manage and report their overall sustainability including all three legs of sustainability. Leonardo Academy specializes in LEED consulting, enterprise sustainability, emissions services, land management services and sustainability training. For more information, please visit www.leonardoacademy.org

About LEED

LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system,  providing third-party verification that a building is using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. For more information, please visit www.usgbc.org.

SOURCE Akridge