Special Recognition - Mass. Green Building of the Year: One Boston Place was one of the first to achieve the USGBC LEED Gold EB O&M

One Boston Place was built in 1970, yet it operates as efficiently as many newer buildings. Driven by a core belief that businesses have an obligation to their local community and the environment as a whole, the owners of the building, TIAA-CREF and Ivanhoe Cambridge (SITQ), in conjunction with CB Richard Ellis-New England, have consistently taken a strong, pro-active approach to resource conservation, waste reduction, environmental protection, and sustainability. Over the past few years, the management team and owners have undertaken many new platforms to further enhance the building's operating efficiency and to reduce its environmental footprint. The building is one of the first in the world to achieve the USGBC LEED Gold designation in the existing Buildings O&M Category in 2008. The recertification process, which is currently underway, shows that sustainability at One Boston Place is a continuous process. Many additional sustainable projects have been completed at the building since 2008. These include the completion of a plaza and façade projects with many sustainable features, and an upgrade to the building EMS system over three years at a cost of approximately 1 million dollars. Another sustainable project completed after their first certification was the installation of light dimming ballasts in their emergency stairwells. The payback on this project was approximately one year. As they look to the future they are anxious to see what new technology can help them keep this classic Boston tower at the forefront of sustainability.