April 28, 2008—In what marks one of the largest and most aggressive environmental commitments from any of the United States’ major retail developers, Vestar Development Co. has launched GreenStar, a vow to pursue certified sustainable development for millions of square feet of retail space on tap in the Southwest, according to the developer, a leading privately held real estate company.
Vestar’s GreenStar initiative marks the Southwest’s first large-scale commitment to sustainable shopping center building techniques with the goal to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the company’s new development projects, says the company.
LEED is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings granted by the US Green Building Council. LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building project is environmentally responsible, sustainable and provides a healthy place to live and work.
What makes Vestar’s GreenStar initiative particularly revolutionary is that the US Green Building Council currently does not have an approved LEED program for retail projects, the company notes. Vestar is on the forefront of the development and testing of LEED guidelines being drafted by the US Green Building Council for retail. Guidelines were drafted in September 2007 and are currently in the pilot stage, but adoption is not expected until early 2009.
The first Vestar project to be part of the new initiative will be Oro Valley Marketplace, a 900,000-square-foot center just north of Tucson. Projects throughout the Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas, San Diego and Los Angeles metro areas will be developed to the new standards which will reduce water use, cut CO2 emissions, reduce waste and lower electricity consumption.
Tangibles include indoor air-quality management plans, construction waste recycling, reflective roofing, water harvesting, energy performance testing, incorporation of regional transportation routes, preferred parking for hybrid vehicles, among others.
For more information, visit the Vestar Web site.
