The Muller Company Awarded LEED Gold on a Recently Completed Class A Office Building in Santa Ana, Calif.
LAGUNA HILLS, CALIF. – The Muller Company, a full service real estate company specializing in management, investment and development of commercial real estate in the western United States, announced today that Tustin Centre Office Phase II in Santa Ana, Calif. was awarded LEED® Gold Certification for its exceptional green design and construction under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for Core and Shell (CS). This new 82,042-square-foot, four-story Class A office building, which is located at 1525 N. Tustin Avenue, near 17th Street, is the first Core and Shell building to receive LEED Gold in all of California. The project is owned by an investment client of BlackRock, Inc. and The Muller Company is the developer and property manager.
“Tustin Centre II's LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “The urgency of USGBC’s mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before, and Tustin Centre II serves as a prime example with just how much we can accomplish.”
The Muller Company incorporated numerous green design and construction features in the development of Tustin Centre II. Nearly 96 percent of all construction waste was recycled and diverted from landfills, equating to more than 1,774 tons of waste, which earned a LEED exemplary performance credit from USGBC; and more than 21 percent of the materials used in construction contained recycled content.
The new building also incorporates the use of low-emitting paints, carpet, adhesives and wood, and recycled content; low-flow faucets and showerheads, waterless urinals and dual-flush toilets, which will save 250,000 gallons or 44 percent of the water typically used by a building of this type and size; and native plants and drought-resistant plants for landscaping, which will save 262,631 gallons or 75 percent of the water normally used for landscaping.
The project also purchased 104 megawatts of Green-e power, which represented 35 percent of the building’s predicted annual electrical consumption over a two-year period (more than half of the power to run the building for a full year of operation will come from renewable energy sources). Furthermore, to maximize energy efficiency, 90 percent of the suites have daylight views, and the roof qualified as a heat island effect reducer through ENERGY STAR compliant roofing.
To encourage the use of alternative forms of transportation, three-preferred parking spaces are provided for carpoolers and three for those driving low emitting vehicles. There are also 10 bicycle racks and two shower and changing room facilities for the building's tenants.
The new building, which opened in October 2009, will be 100 percent leased in November 2010 by Regional Center of Orange County (RCOC), a state-funded nonprofit organization that provides life-long services and support for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. The lease with RCOC was one of the largest signed in Orange County this year.
Tustin Centre also includes a 10-story 196,000-square-foot Class A office building, which was constructed in 1991 and is currently ENERGY STAR pending. This building serves as the headquarters of real estate brokerage and investor Grubb & Ellis Co. and a host of other tenants. An investment client of BlackRock is the owner and The Muller Company is the property manager for both buildings.
Looking forward, The Muller Company will continue to apply its renovation and rehabbing expertise to the green-building market. Karen Winter, Director of Property Management, who has been with the company for more than a decade, says, “There's a growing interest among clients - especially government tenants - to occupy green buildings and have their improvements certified under the LEED for Commercial Interiors designation. Not only is it good for business, but some of the changes promoted by the USGBC affect the bottomline, like low water usage and energy efficiency.”
About The Muller Company
The Muller Company has over 30 years of experience in developing, acquiring and managing a diverse portfolio of over 20 million square feet of office, industrial and retail real estate throughout the western United States, with nearly 11 million square feet currently under management in the California and Phoenix markets. Over the years, The Muller Company has partnered with institutional owners such as GE Capital, Capmark, Rockwood Capital, BlackRock, ING Realty and Metlife. Empowered by an entrepreneurial spirit and guided by an owner’s perspective, The Muller Company excels at mining the long-term value from every asset that it manages by adding value, either through leasing, capital improvements, refinancing, operational audits and repositioning. For more information, contact the Director of Business Development, Lori Ann Haigh at 949.460.5380 or visit www.themullercompany.com.
