Hollywood Office Building Takes the Gold

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

Columbia Square, Los Angeles

Los Angeles—Kilroy Realty Corp. has earned two LEED Gold certifications for 469,000 square feet of its office component of the Columbia Square mixed-use development project in Hollywood, Calif.

“This designation means that we successfully executed the sustainability vision that we put in place at the project’s inception,” Sara Neff, Kilroy Realty’s senior vice president of sustainability, told Commercial Property Executive. “It shows excellence and dedication on the part of the architect, MEP, consultants, and Kilroy over a number of years.”

The office component comprises historic and new office buildings that are leased to several well-known entertainment and media companies, including Viacom and Fender. Sustainable elements were incorporated into all aspects of the building design.

“Columbia Square is a study in mobility, collaboration and connection to the natural world. By blending historical reuse with new construction, we have preserved the architectural character of a Hollywood classic and put it to work for tomorrow,” Neff said. “We are the premier developer and operator of LEED properties on the West Coast. All of our development projects are built to LEED Platinum and Gold standards, so achieving LEED Gold was a fundamental requirement for this project.”

Kilroy Realty acquired the historic 4.7-acre site in 2012 and helped lead Hollywood’s revitalization. The company has a successful track record of sustainability achievements and that is evident in all that it put forward.

“We installed an innovative Variable Refrigerant Management System that is very energy efficient, and our system can bring in 100 percent outdoor air for improved ventilation,” Neff said. “We reduced water in the landscape and indoors via waterless urinals and other low flow fixtures. We also went through enhanced commissioning and really focused on indoor air quality in our materials purchasing.”

The building also offers onsite composting, electric car charging stations and an onsite bicycle parking amenity with lockers and showers.

The project also hosts frequent tours to serve as a teaching tool, and anyone interested can sign up for the Greenbuild “Hooray for Hollywood” tour if they would like to come see it.

In addition to the office component, the 685,000-square-foot mixed-use project includes a 200-unit residential tower, which is pursuing WELL certification, focusing on human health.

Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix