Westcore Properties And American Realty Advisors Receive LEED GOLD Certification For Denver Office Building

DENVER – Sept. 15, 2015 – Showcasing its commitment to sustainable building management practices, Westcore Properties, in partnership with American Realty Advisors, has received LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Gold certification for its AECOM Center office building in Denver.The building, which was constructed in 2001, is located at 8181 East Tufts Ave. in the Denver Tech Center. The property was acquired by Westcore Properties in 2006, and was sold into a joint venture partnership owned by Westcore and American Realty Advisors in 2015. After being awarded a LEED Silver certification five years ago, the Westcore Properties team quickly began implementing building improvements to raise the bar on the building’s performance as it relates to sustainability and energy efficiency.

“Managing buildings that are good for the environment in terms of the energy and resources used is essential in today’s marketplace,” said Don Ankeny, president and chief executive officer for Westcore Properties. “We not only improved the building features and functionality to achieve the certification, but we also partnered with our building tenants and encouraged occupants to take on additional sustainability efforts.”

Improvements include optimizing energy efficiency performance, sustainable acquisition of materials and resources, and water and plumbing efficiency enhancements.

“These energy efficient and sustainability improvements provide tremendous long-term value for the property, its tenants, and our investors,” says Kirk Helgeson, chief investment officer at American Realty Advisors. “By optimizing efficiency and bringing the property up to LEED Gold standards, we have reduced the building’s environmental impact, while also reducing costs. This project exemplifies our commitment to environmental stewardship within the greater Denver community.”

In addition to site upgrades, Westcore Properties and American surveyed tenants on the sustainable practices they use to demonstrate a building-wide commitment to maintaining a green-friendly building.

“Congratulations to Westcore Properties for achieving LEED Gold certification at the Tufts office. AECOM views sustainability as an important aspect of all business-related ventures and, as such, we were glad to partner with Westcore in this effort,” said Dr. David Ellerbroek, AECOM senior vice president, Denver Metro Area manager.

Currently, the building is 90 percent occupied with seven tenants, including Westcore Properties’ offices. Amenities include four levels of underground parking, full-time engineering and dayporter, evening and weekend security, and on-site management, deli and gym equipped with a shower and a locker room.

LEED is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. To receive LEED certification, building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification. The LEED rating system is administered by the Green Building Certification Institute.