Watt Plaza Recertified to LEED Platinum Level

By Anca Gagiuc

The twin 23-story office tower located at 1875-1925 Century Park East in Los Angeles, Calif., earned the highest LEED certification for the second time. The Platinum LEED-awarded property, the first building in Century City to achieve the recognition, exceeded its previous Platinum performance by five points due to ongoing improvements and sustainability commitments from all vendors servicing the building. In addition, the LEED Platinum certification for Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance is its third LEED award.

“We are thrilled that Watt Plaza has earned LEED Platinum certification once again, which is especially noteworthy because our building has been operational for over 30 years,” Nadine Watt, president of Watt Cos. said in a prepared statement. “Sustainability is a top priority for us, and we’re proud to serve as an example of how a large commercial development can achieve the highest level of sustainability without sacrificing a high-quality experience to tenants. Our sustainability initiatives have been multi-faceted and we’re constantly seeking new ways to remain a leader in green development.”

Watt Plaza is the first commercial office building in Century City, Calif. to install electric vehicle charging stations in its parking facility. The property was successful in realizing a reduction of more than 31 percent in conventional transportation trips through an Alternative Commuting Transportation program. In addition, the property installed a white roof to reduce the “heat island effect” as part of its Sustainable Site Development measures.

Another sustainable achievement is Watt Plaza’s 66 percent reduction in annual landscape water use compared to the regional average. This was possible partly due to the selection of drought-tolerant plants and the utilization of recycled ground covers and a web-based irrigation system that prevented overwatering and ensured the health of the plans. Furthermore, the office asset uses 100 percent clean energy through renewable energy acquisitions, which has an impact similar to taking 1,686 vehicles off of the road for a year or planting 206,888 tree seedlings and growing them for ten years.

The asset underwent a complete third-party retro-commissioning of all its equipment and systems in 2016. The process included upgrades to LED fixtures, improvements to the building’s automation system operating parameters, as well as general renovations to improve both occupant comfort and energy conservation. Furthermore, occupancy sensors were also installed throughout offices, common area corridors, stairwells and restrooms, managing a drop in electrical consumption by 690,000 kWh while improving the environment with an annual reduction of 936,655 pounds of carbon dioxide, 6,849 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 3,624 pounds of nitrogen dioxide. The office property consistently achieved high Energy Star ratings every year since 2004, culminating with this year’s Energy Star rating of 98 out of 100.

Reducing waste was another priority at Watt Plaza. In addition to e-waste, battery, bulb and ballast recycling programs, Watt Plaza implemented a waste-diversion program that rerouted 75 percent of all building waste to a materials recovery facility, leading to a reduction of 1,866 tons of greenhouse gas emissions to date, which equates to preserving 6,462 trees a year. In the future, Watt Plaza plans to reach a 95 percent diversion of waste, which would allow Watt Plaza to consider itself a “Zero Waste Facility.”

Watt Plaza also enrolled the entire janitorial staff in the Green Janitor Education program, an environmental education program for janitors to address the energy management and green cleaning practices of commercial buildings in California.

Images courtesy of Watt Plaza