The Rockefeller Group and General Mills originally sought LEED- Silver certification for the distribution center, but the number of credits accrued in five green design categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality exceeded the number of credits needed for LEED-Silver, says Smith.

The project went quickly, says Smith. Rockefeller bought the 130 acres for the General Mills building only a year ago, and started construction 11 months ago. The company managed to finish the project in under a year, even though there were three 100-year storms during construction, he says.

In order to meet the stringent deadlines, says Smith, Rockefeller used every conceivable method to expedite construction, such as having an onsite concrete batch plant and two shifts a day of construction.