Gaedeke Group Marks LEED-EB Milestone With One McKinney Plaza

November 6, 2010

Business News
Posted By Betsy Kraat

DALLAS, TX-–Gaedeke Group LLC's prized One McKinney Plaza, which is undergoing more than $5 million of renovations, has earned the portfolio's first LEED for Existing Buildings' certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Gaedeke invested approximately one year into gathering required materials and completing the performance period for the certification process for the 256,543-sf One McKinney Plaza at 3232 McKinney Ave. in Uptown, gaining valuable knowledge and a model for its other class A office buildings to secure LEED-EB: Operations & Maintenance status. Gaedeke currently has seven Energy Star-rated buildings.

"We felt One McKinney Plaza had all the merits of a LEED building and we wanted to take advantage of that opportunity," says Dan S. Yates, regional manager and green programs officer for the Dallas-based real estate firm. The 91%-leased high rise has been on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star list since 2007.

The USGBC rated Gaedeke's performance as exemplary in the "innovation in operation" category, earning a water efficiency credit for plumbing changes resulting in overall usage savings of more than 30%. The owner replaced 42 commodes with a high-efficiency design that decreases the gallons per flush by 40%, retrofitted urinals and installed hands-free sinks.

"Gaedeke is to be congratulated on taking a major leap in sustainability by going through the LEED certification process for One McKinney Plaza," says Sandra Heffernan, president of Dallas-based Sustainable Partners LLC, which was Gaedeke's consultant for the undertaking. The LEED certification team included Blaine Morris, Gaedeke's director of engineering, and Sandra Plunk, property manager of the 15-story One McKinney Plaza.

The owner also scored high points for requiring green janitorial products; expanding its recycling program to include electronic waste and batteries; and installing energy-efficient light bulbs.

The lessons learned during One McKinney Plaza's LEED certification process are now being applied elsewhere in Gaedeke's portfolio. In Washington, D.C., the performance period of the LEED process is under way at 1310 G Street NW, a 195,711-sf, 12-story office building just minutes from Capitol Hill. In Phoenix, the team is ready to begin the performance period for 2800 Tower, a 21-story office building totaling 364,533 sf at 2800 N. Central Ave. in Midtown.