KDC has achieved LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for the first three office towers at CityLine, the company’s 186-acre mixed-use development in Richardson, Texas. State Farm is leasing 1.5 million square feet in buildings One, Two and Three CityLine.
“We exceeded our expectations when it came to creating an ideal and healthy work environment for State Farm,” said Don Mills, KDC executive vice president. “We were targeting LEED Silver certification but when it came to scoring the project, both the design and construction teams surpassed the requirements to obtain LEED Gold certification.”
LEED is a green building certification program led by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. A third-party verification process is used to determine that a building has been designed and built using strategies aimed at improving overall performance.
To receive LEED Gold certification, the three office towers were evaluated in six areas: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, indoor environmental quality, regional priority, and innovation in design.
The following are some of the strategies integrated into the development:
- Measures were implemented during construction to minimize erosion and prevent sediment from washing into neighborhoods and waterways.
- Rainfall and surface runoff water is filtered on-site to improve storm water quality.
- Exterior campus is designed with increased vegetated landscape to maximize open space and to conserve water usage by approximately 60 percent.
- More than 90 percent of the occupied interior areas have direct views to the outside.
- Buildings are partially powered from electricity derived from renewable energy sources.
- Close proximity to Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail station
Phase 2 of construction, which includes the fourth State Farm office tower at CityLine, began in July 2014 with completion slated for mid-2016. It consists of a 12-story office tower situated above a five-level parking structure with approximately 30,000 square feet of ground floor retail. The tower is located on the northeast corner of State Street and Plano Road, directly across Plano Road from the other three towers leased by State Farm.
About KDC
KDC, one of America’s leading commercial real estate development and investment companies, provides a full range of commercial real estate services including corporate build-to-suit development, acquisitions, corporate facility project/construction management, project financing, asset and land management, and marketing and leasing. KDC is headquartered in Dallas and has offices in Atlanta, Austin and Houston, Texas, and Charlotte, N.C. For more information, please visit kdc.com.
