SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The United States Green Building Council has awarded a prestigious Platinum LEED Certification to 270 Brannan Street in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood, developed by SKS Partners of San Francisco.
LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. SKS Partners of San Francisco developed 270 Brannan in partnership with Mitsui Fudosan America of New York City. The 200,000 square foot building, constructed on the site of a former parking lot, opened in May 2016.
Projects pursuing LEED certification earn points for how well they meet various measures of sustainability. Platinum is the highest level of certification possible. LEED-certified buildings are resource efficient, use less water and energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The platinum level is rare and 270 Brannan Street becomes only the 30th building in the City of San Francisco to win this designation. The building won 100 percent of the LEED points awarded for water efficiency.
The structure incorporates a water reuse system that captures rainwater and condensation from the building’s cooling system. This non-potable water is then treated on site and used for 100 percent of the irrigation system demand and 83 percent of the toilet flushing demand in the building.
“SKS and MFA were committed to developing an office building that would be a leader in environmentally sustainable practices,” said Dan Kingsley, Managing Partner of SKS. “We were particularly focused on demonstrating that contemporary buildings can efficiently use the scarce resource of water, and therefore we are honored to have been awarded all of the available LEED points for water efficiency.”
Designed by prominent local architect Peter Pfau of Pfau Long Architecture and Sustainability Consultant Thornton Tomasetti, 270 Brannan Street has been recognized for its innovative and environmentally sustainable design. Between the five-story front and seven-story rear sections of the building sits a naturally ventilated 5,000-foot internal atrium that provides occupants with a tranquil alternative to the open office environment.
The building is one of the first in the city to set aside more spaces for bicycles – 52 – than cars – 12. City planners have praised 270 Brannan Street for incorporating the history and character of the neighborhood into the design, while meeting the needs of tenants. The building is fully leased to Splunk, a fast-growing enterprise software company that specializes in data mining.
SKS Partners, established in 1992, is a leading investor and developer of commercial real estate properties in the San Francisco Bay Area. The firm has successfully executed over 25 ground up and adaptive re-use developments totaling over 8 million square feet, based upon its ability to identify emerging demographic and market trends.
Mitsui Fudosan America, Inc. (MFA) is a real estate investment and development company headquartered in New York City and is the U.S. subsidiary of Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. – Japan’s largest publicly traded real estate company. Since its inception, MFA has acquired and developed numerous office, multifamily and hospitality properties in major markets throughout the U.S. In addition to its significant portfolio of office buildings, MFA recently expanded its development platform, with several office and multifamily development projects launched in New York, Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.