ISO Gets Milestone Gold From USGBC

HOLYOKE, MA-Project officials and the tenant have struck gold after achieving that LEED ranking from the USGBC for the renovation and expansion of the ISO New England complex. The two-building 160,000-sf facility is the first corporate headquarters and the largest office property in the region to achieve the coveted gold certificate, according to ISO, which among other things operates 350 power plants that encompass New England’s electrical grid.

“It’s a strong designation,” acknowledges an ISO spokeswoman, while CFO Robert Ludlow is praising the design and construction team that allowed the development to win the second-highest level in the LEED rating system. Architect Paul Comeau of Spagnolo Gisness & Associates Inc. says ISO management made it clear early on to his firm and to project manager Jones Lang LaSalle that sustainability would be a cornerstone of the undertaking. Others commended for championing the cause were construction manager Barr & Barr, AHA Consulting Engineers and structural engineer McNamara/Salvia Inc.

“It’s exciting,” Comeau tells GlobeSt.com of the gold ranking, with only 18 buildings in New England having earned that distinction to date, and just two office properties, both smaller than the Holyoke project. The initial goal was a basic LEED certificate, but as the process matured and adaptations were made, the silver LEED then became a target. When the two-year initiative concluded of developing a new 100,000-sf building and renovating the existing 60,000-sf structure, the team felt a gold might be in the offing because of the extensive checklist compiled. “It really took everybody working together,” he says of the achievement, an outcome he was not sure of until being informed by the USGBC.