Houston

Greenway Plaza Becomes Largest LEED-Certified Office Campus in Texas

By Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

Crescent Real Estate Holdings’ 10-building office campus, Greenway Plaza, recently achieved LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, becoming the largest Texas office campus to earn this designation.

The master-planned business campus consists of an impressive 4.3 million square feet of Class A office space, and is home to The Shops at Greenway; located five miles southwest of downtown Houston, the 55-acre business park and mixed-use community also includes residential condominiums, a luxury hotel and an athletic/social club.

The office park’s commitment to the environment is easily noticeable due to its large lawns, trees and network of internal roadways connecting to underground parking, all helping establish the “green culture” of Greenway Plaza. The ease of access to major freeways and mass transportation adds commuting options for employees and visitors and another layer of environmental sensitivity, as do its biannual electronics collection events. Maintenance and operations are likewise consistent with the LEED program.

“Along with our energy-efficient and now completely LEED-certified 10 buildings, our office campus has plenty of green space, including the largest green roof in Texas covering underground parking. We also have the most convenient mass transportation options for customers,” said Cruse.

Crescent Real Estate Equities L.P.—the entity that manages and, through its affiliates, owns the Greenway Plaza office campus—was the one to seek LEED recognition for the property. Besides attesting to the property’s environmental commitment, the certification provides a significant business advantage to Class A commercial buildings, according to Bob Carlen, vice president of property management for Crescent.

“Crescent is committed to environmental sustainability and being a responsible environmental leader among existing office buildings,” Carlen said. “Conducting ourselves as good environmental stewards is the right thing to do for the environment. At the same time, environmental leadership and energy savings is a sound business practice that helps our customers reduce costs and improve their bottom line.”

Image via GreenwayPlaza.com