Mar 9 2010
The 440 South Church Street office building, Charlotte, with a total area of 365,000 square feet, achieved LEED-CS (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – Core and Shell) Gold Certification with the help of The Epsten Group, which is an architectural firm based in Atlanta.
Founder and president of The Epsten Group, Dagmar Epsten, said the company is pleased with the Gold Certification, since the original target was to achieve LEED Silver Certification, but due to the efforts of the company has resulted in higher environmental rating of LEED Gold Certification. Epsten further said that if all office buildings achieve similar ratings as 440 Church Street, the efforts could lead to a significant reduction in emissions of greenhouse gas, energy use and have positive global environmental impact.
An energy model performed by The Epsten Group for the 440 South Church Street established that the owner of the building could save about 18% of energy costs per annum when compared to a conventional office building, Epsten continued. Each floor of the building with electrical meters will enable businesses to keep track of their usage of energy. Environmentally-friendly features in the building include carpets and paints that emit low VOC, use of wood-based building materials that are certified by FSC, and use of 26% recycled building materials. Trinity Capital Advisors, based in North Carolina, developed the building.
Source: www.TheEpstenGroup.com