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SkySong 5 Building receives LEED Gold certification

Posted 4/26/21

SkySong, the Arizona State University Scottsdale Innovation Center’s fifth office building, has earned LEED Gold certification for its sustainability and environmentally-friendly construction.

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SkySong 5 Building receives LEED Gold certification

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SkySong, the Arizona State University Scottsdale Innovation Center’s fifth office building, has earned LEED Gold certification for its sustainability and environmentally-friendly construction.

LEED — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — is a certification program that sets the standard for environmentally responsible construction in the U.S. Buildings based on number of points earned in green building categories such as energy, water, indoor environment, location and materials.

The six-story, 151,000-square-foot office and research building in the “heart of the project” is, according to a press release, the first building in the project to receive LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The other four office buildings are LEED Silver certified, and all have been developed with a focus on healthy, environmentally friendly design — part of SkySong’s “Culture of Health and Innovation.”

SkySong has earned environmental recognition for the first four completed office buildings on the site, joining only a handful of projects in the Valley to have achieved Silver Certification of higher, and one of the few non-governmental projects to achieve such status, the release said.

“This certification means that the newest building at SkySong is also one of the greenest buildings in the entire Phoenix metro area,” stated Sharon Harper, chairman/CEO of Plaza Companies, which is the master developer of the SkySong project and SkySong 5.

“We are very proud of SkySong 5 and are pleased with the success we have had in attracting new companies to the building thanks to its many exceptional features.”

Plaza Companies is the master developer of SkySong with ASU University Realty, City of Scottsdale and Holualoa Companies as partners, noted the release.

The path to the LEED award began with the design process. SkySong 5 features sustainable strategies that were implemented, including:

  • Use of native plant species and high-efficiency irrigation technology
  • High efficiency design and systems technology to achieve energy cost savings
  • Building materials specified and manufactured using recycled materials.
  • Use of low-emitting materials like adhesives, sealants, paints, flooring, and composite wood to provide healthy indoor air quality
  • Implementing a Green Housekeeping Policy provided by the Plaza janitorial service contractor to optimize health indoor air quality for tenants and occupants during the building’s operational period
  • Dedicated areas for collecting and storing recyclables within the building and onsite, including a tenant recycling waste disposal program provided by the janitorial service of the building
  • Diversion of on-site construction waste from the landfill
  • Use of low-flow plumbing fixtures to achieve water use reduction
  • Preferred parking reserved for sustainable vehicle transportation, like low-emissions vehicles, and even carpooling
  • Sourcing of sustainably harvested and managed wood products, verified by the Forest Stewardship Certification program

SkySong is a 42-acre mixed use development designed to:

  • Create an ecology of collaboration and innovation among high-profile technology enterprises and related researchers;
  • Advance global business objectives of on-site enterprises;
  • Raise Arizona’s profile as a global center of innovation through co-location of ASU’s strategic global partners; and
  • Create a unique regional economic and social asset.

Companies at SkySong have the opportunity to partner with Arizona State University, which has more than 100,000 students studying across four metropolitan Phoenix campuses, in Lake Havasu City, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.

ASU is among the largest public universities in the nation, with the majority of its students attending its campus in Tempe, which is less than three miles from SkySong.

In addition to locating its own innovative research units at the center, through ASU’s on-site operations, tenant companies have a single point of contact for introductions to researchers, faculty and programs to address specific needs.

Information on SkySong: SkySong.com.