CHICAGO—MB Real Estate’s Asset Management group has achieved a LEED for Existing Buildings-Operation and Maintenance (LEED-EB: O&M) Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for The Richard J. Daley Center at 50 W. Washington in Chicago.
The Daley Center is owned and operated by the Public Building Commission (PBC) on behalf of the City of Chicago and Cook County, and is Chicago’s largest municipally owned LEED-EB: O&M certified office building at approximately 1.6 million sq. ft.
MB Real Estate assisted the PBC in achieving the certification, a first for the PBC, based on the building’s performance over a year-long period and sustainability efforts undertaken throughout the past decade. MB Real Estate and the PBC sought LEED-EB: O&M certification to align with overall sustainability goals, and demonstrate that LEED EB: O&M is attainable for municipally owned, large assembly use buildings.
Since 1994, MB Real Estate has provided property management for the Richard J. Daley Center and has implemented several efficiency modifications including a no-cost climate-control initiative that saved more than $500,000 in electricity costs in 2009, earning the property multiple Energy Star designations.
These modifications, along with the building’s lighting system adjustments, have resulted in a 54 percent reduction of electricity usage, and modifications to the plumbing systems in each of the building’s 417 restrooms have resulted in a 70 percent reduction of water usage.
The City of Chicago maintains 55 LEED-certified, municipally owned facilities, more than any other city in the nation. The PBC has developed the majority of these facilities, with 32 registered and an additional 44 already having achieved certification.
The Richard J. Daley Center is the first property for the PBC to attain the LEED-EB: O&M certification.