ING officially opened its new office building recently. The 475,000 s/f structure will house more than 2,200 people who currently work in leased office space in Hartford. This site is also home to ING's retirement services business, an important growth business for the company. Key elements of the new facility were designed with customers and the environment in mind. More than 300 workers have moved into the building, and the company will move additional people every week through the end of the year. Tom McInerney, member of the ING Group executive board and chairman and CEO of ING Insurance Americas, said the building's opening marks an important point for ING in the region. "Greater Hartford is a vibrant area with a highly educated and talented workforce, and a deep pool of experienced financial services professionals. Our businesses and employees here are critical to our company's growth plan," said McInerney. "This building represents a significant investment by ING Group and demonstrates our commitment to this region." "ING's choice to keep its business in the region and invest its capital here clearly demonstrates that our state remains an attractive and competitive place for businesses, particularly those in the financial services industry," said Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell. "Connecticut is proud to be home to ING's U.S. Wealth Management business, and we hope to see it grow even further." "We're delighted to continue to be a major financial services employer in Greater Hartford, with the exceptional talent we have here," said Kathy Murphy, CEO of ING U.S. Wealth Management. "ING put tremendous thought into the location and design of this building. The innovative design emphasizes what is most important to us - our customers and our employees." ING's well-known orange color covers the interior of the building, which includes a variety of other ING branding as part of its efforts to make the building a showcase for clients. Key company executives are located near the customer call center, while the top floor, traditionally reserved for executive offices, features a cafeteria and meeting spaces, with balconies that allow employees to step out to enjoy the views. At 475,000 s/f, the glass and steel Windsor building is the largest single office structure to be built in Greater Hartford in two decades. The four-story building, which rests on a 76-acre site, is constructed of limestone-colored concrete with an abundance of glass to allow significant natural light into workspaces. The building features a contrasting, silver metal fourth-floor exterior facade, giving it a striking, modern look. ING engaged Trammell Crow Company as the developer and hired John Moriarty & Associates, Inc., as the general contractor for the project. Spagnolo Gisness & Associates Inc. of Boston designed the building, which contains an airy, central atrium and two large wings providing office space for employees. The building houses a fitness center, and the site incorporates surface parking for approximately 2,200 cars. Building with the environment in mind ING's design team worked with local energy distributor Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) to infuse the building's design with energy-efficient products and systems. According to CL&P, the energy savings over the life of these measures will equal 1.87 million gallons of oil, or enough to provide 3,376 homes with electricity each year. Over the same time period these efforts will avoid generation of 31 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, among other environmental benefits. ING's environmentally focused construction efforts further demonstrate the company's commitment to environmental care. In January, ING Group announced its intention to become carbon-neutral by the end of the year, through the reduction and/or compensation of all its global carbon emissions that result from energy usage and travel. In September, ING announced it will purchase renewable energy for all of its U.S. locations, buying 70 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean wind energy credits from Community Energy, Inc. Part of that purchase includes participation in a Connecticut green power program. ING's commitment to buy one million kilowatt hours of eligible CTCleanEnergyOptions renewable energy supply, entitles them to designate a free solar energy system to a local community.