Halifax, Monday, February 24, 2014 – Southwest Properties is proud to announce that its residential building, The Grainery Lofts, has received LEED® Gold Certification (LEED® for New Construction). This achievement marks the first privately owned and developed, multi-unit residential building east of Montreal to achieve LEED® Gold status.
LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings and is awarded by the Canada Green Building Council. To achieve LEED® Gold, Southwest had to meet strict, measurable benchmarks and earn credits in five categories – sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy & atmosphere, materials & resources, and indoor environmental quality.
“With four possible levels of certification to achieve, we knew Silver status was attainable but our team worked continuously towards Gold,” said Southwest’s Chairman and CEO, Jim Spatz. “Earning this status is very exciting for our company, and I truly believe it is the direct result of our team’s unwavering commitment to green initiatives.”
“At Southwest we go beyond the necessary to create inspiring environments that improve people’s lives. We are firm believers in having third party certification because it validates green initiatives. Southwest is committed to managing and constructing buildings that are environmentally responsible. We will develop all our future projects to certifiably sustainable standards.”