American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Earns LEED® Platinum Certification

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Akridge, a Washington, DC-based real estate investor, developer, and operator, announced that the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) property was recertified as a LEED® for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance Platinum building. The property, developed and managed by Akridge, originally earned LEED for Existing Buildings: O&M Gold certification on June 1, 2009, making it the first building in Washington, DC to do so. The AAAS building is one of only 11 buildings worldwide to achieve this designation. Engineering News Record voted the property one of the 100 most significant structures of the 20^th Century. In addition, the property, designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Associates, leverages multiple applications of innovative green technology. It is renowned for its use of light harvesting as one of the only buildings in the Washington area with light shelves that reflect natural light into perimeter offices.

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This recertification follows a series of Akridge LEED accomplishments in 2013. These accomplishments were spread across the Akridge portfolio and include: 7550 Wisconsin Avenue (LEED for Core & Shell™Gold), 1801 Alexander Bell Drive (LEED for Existing Buildings: O&M™Gold), and DHS at Union Square (LEED for Commercial Interiors™Gold). A trailblazer in environmentally-responsible practices, Akridge is also celebrating its new LEED Green Associates, who include Kaitlin Brokaw, Craig Ginsburg, Courtney Lambert, Sarah Knutson, Jason Reidenbach, and Sonia Zamora. Akridge also recognizes Jason Reidenbach, IBEW Chief Engineer, for achieving this distinction.

Michele Good, Akridge's Director of Sustainability, commented further on the Platinum recertification of AAAS and the firm's environmental agenda for 2014 stating, "Akridge has been committed to eco-friendly development and operations for decades and strives for ongoing, continuous improvement.  Akridge's Building Sustainability™ initiative embraces LEED as a strong foundation and also looks beyond to create a more innovative, comprehensive, and balanced approach to reducing the company's carbon footprint and its impact on the community. We are thrilled to have partners like AAAS that recognize the value of sustainable building practices and share the belief that a green building is only as sustainable as its day to day operations." This recertification, and the increase from Gold to Platinum, is a validation of AAAS and Akridge's long term efforts to operate a building effectively and efficiently over the life of a building.

About Akridge
Akridge is a comprehensive real estate services company that provides acquisition, development, construction management, asset management, property management, leasing, and consulting services. Founded in 1974, the company has acquired or developed more than 12 million square feet of commercial space and currently manages four million square feet throughout the DC area. The industry's foremost benchmarking firms, CEL & Associates, has ranked Akridge the number one real estate firm in the country for Client satisfaction, among firms of similar size, ten times since 1999. Akridge is committed to sustainable development and practices, and has been recognized as an Energy Star Top Performer and Partner of the Year. The company has also been honored with the National Capital Business Ethics Award, and has been recognized as the Best Place to Work in Greater Washington by the Washington Business journal. For more information, please visit www.akridge.com.

About American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
The American Association for the Advancement of Science, "Triple A-S" (AAAS), is an international non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science around the world by serving as an educator, leader, spokesperson and professional association. In addition to organizing membership activities, AAAS publishes the journal Science, as well as many scientific newsletters, books and reports, and spearheads programs that raise the bar of understanding for science worldwide.  For more information please visit www.aaas.org.

SOURCE Akridge