Office Icon Becomes Green Retrofit Model

NEW YORK CITY-A green retrofit under way at the Empire State Building is using the iconic office tower as a test case in a program made public at a news conference on Monday. Along with cutting energy use at 350 Fifth Ave. by a projected 38% and reducing the building’s greenhouse gas emissions by thousands of tons per year, the program is intended to provide a reproducible model for existing buildings worldwide.

“We’re using the world’s most famous office building as our pilot project,” said Raymond Quartararo, international director at Jones Lang LaSalle, which is managing the project. “The real message is that this need not be confined to the Empire State Building,” added Quartararo during Monday’s press conference at 350 Fifth’s 80th-floor observatory. “This can be done in thousands of buildings around the world.” Added Mayor Michael Bloomberg, “They’re showing the rest of the city that existing buildings, no matter how tall they are, no matter how old they are, can take steps to significantly reduce their energy consumption.”

Spearheaded by the Empire State Building Co., which owns the property, the project is claimed to be the first integrated program that models the steps for reducing energy consumption and projecting cost savings, and also makes details of the process available to other landlords. A website describing the project in-depth is now live at www.esbsustainability.com. JLL’s partners on the project include the Clinton Climate Initiative, the Rocky Mountain Institute and Johnson Controls.