Austin’s Tallest Building Awarded LEED Gold

AUSTIN, Texas — Not only is Thomas Properties’ Frost Tower the largest high-rise office building, it’s also the first downtown structure to receive LEED Gold certification.

 

"Achieving the USGBC’s Existing Building certification is a challenging and time-consuming process that requires a great deal of historical property performance information," says John Kelley, vice president of property management with Thomas Properties. "Our LEED Gold certification was well worth the effort and gives the building a competitive edge as more and more companies are looking for sustainable offices from both a cost savings and environmental perspective."

 

The 33-story Frost Bank Tower was built in 2003 and includes more than 530,000 square feet of office space in the heart of the Austin Central Business District. Its certification was based on an exceptionally high Energy Star rating of 92 out of 100, its water-conservation features, waste minimization, green janitorial practices, and corporate-driven sustainability policies and operating procedures.

 

Thomas Properties employs an internal Green Team rather than using outside consultants to allow onsite property management to gain in-depth knowledge of the systems and continue effective sustainability practices in daily operations, according to the company.

 

The Frost Bank Tower was already very energy and water efficient when the property owner began to work on the LEED certification process, says Daniele Horton, sustainability manager with Thomas Properties Group.

 

"We were able to achieve a Gold rating by documenting what was already in place and taking advantage of low-cost opportunities to improve the facility’s sustainability, such as implementing our corporate sustainability policies, green tenant improvement guidelines, and instituting occupant surveys and procedures for indoor air quality," she says.