Lansing, Michigan, May 20, 2008: The Christman Company announced today that it has been awarded LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for The Christman Building, its recently rehabilitated national headquarters located in downtown Lansing, Michigan. LEED is the USGBC’s rating system for designing and constructing the world’s greenest, most energy efficient and high performing buildings, with the Platinum level being its highest possible rating. The building was formally certified in a ceremony today in which USGBC presented Christman with certifications in two categories, LEED Commercial Interiors (CI) and LEED Core and Shell. This is the world’s first building project to achieve this “double Platinum” distinction.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building is an example of sustainable “green” historic building practices, considered by many to be the highest form of sustainable design and construction due to its reuse of an existing structure. The many green features of the project include water use reduction, optimized energy performance, construction waste management, a focus on daylighting and a healthy indoor environment.
“The Christman Company and its design partner SmithGroup are to be congratulated for achieving LEED Platinum certification for both The Christman Building and its office space, “ said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO, Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “The best-practices case of The Christman Building has helped expand the boundaries of what’s possible in high-performance, energy-efficient building, and should provide an inspiration for others.”
The 1928-built former Mutual Building was recently rededicated as The Christman Building following a major historic rehabilitation which preserved its many historic features – including Pewabic tiled stairways and exterior limestone detailing - while upgrading its interior to a Class A office building. The building is headquarters to Christman as well as long-term tenants Kelley Cawthorne and Michigan Municipal League.
