YOTEL New York Awarded Prestigious LEED® Gold Certification

NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- YOTEL New York, located on tenth Avenue at W42nd Street, part of the MiMA development by Related Companies, has been awarded LEED® "Gold" certification established by the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). LEED is the nation's preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

"Construction of YOTEL New York offered us a great opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to water and energy conservation as well as sustainable practices overall," said YOTEL Operations Director, Nigel Buchanan.

YOTEL New York achieved LEED certification for energy, lighting, water and material use, as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies. By using less energy and water, LEED certified buildings reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a healthier environment for hotel guests, employees and the local community.

"YOTEL New York's LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. "The urgency of USGBC's mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before, and YOTEL New York serves as a prime example with just how much we can accomplish."

LEED certification of YOTEL New York was based on a number of green design and construction features that positively impact the project itself and the broader community. These features include:

1. High efficiency lighting, which includes LED lamps that shine as bright as halogen lamps using a fraction of the energy. 
2. A heat recovery system that captures the heat and humidity from the exhaust air and transfers it to the supply in winter and vice versa in the summer.  This ensures that all the energy invested in tempering the ventilation air is not lost from the building.
3. A rainwater collection system that captures water, which is then used to irrigate the landscaped terrace.  This strategy not only conserves drinking water for potable needs, but also reduces storm water runoff from the site. 
4. Occupancy sensors in each YOTEL cabin automatically turn on the lights to greet guests when they walk in the door and turn them off when guests leave.  The occupancy sensors also scale back the heating and air conditioning when the room is vacant for an extended period of time. 
5. Renewable energy certificates, which equal to 35% of the building's total predicted energy use for 2 years, support the generation of wind and solar power.
6. Building finishes were hand selected in part for their indoor air quality features. 
7. Before opening, YOTEL tested the air quality of a sample set of rooms and amenity spaces to confirm all of their indoor air quality goals had been achieved.

For more information about LEED or YOTEL, visit www.usgbc.org and www.yotel.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Louise O'Brien/DKC
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SOURCE YOTEL