Flashback Friday: Mayor Menino Announces that Atlantic Wharf, Boston's First Green Skyscraper, Receives LEED Platinum Plaque

By Ritchie Lafaille, Office Fellow

Mayor Thomas M. Menino today announced that Boston Properties’ Atlantic Wharf, Boston’s first green
skyscraper has been designated LEED Platinum under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Core & Shell program.  Roger Platt, Senior Vice President, Global Policy & Law for the USGBC presented the LEED Platinum plaque to Bryan Koop, Senior Vice President & Regional Manager of Boston Properties and Boston’s Mayor Thomas Menino at a ceremony at Atlantic Wharf located on the Fort Point Channel near Boston’s Innovation District.

“This LEED Platinum designation marks not only a great milestone for Boston Properties, but also for the City of Boston and our innovative work in green building and development,” said Mayor Menino, “The City of Boston has long been a champion of greening our built environment, from first-in-the-nation green building zoning to the Building Energy Disclosure Ordinance announced today.  I look forward to continuing our great work with partners such as Boston Properties to ensure a greener, more sustainable, and more prosperous future for Boston.”

A collaborative development between the City of Boston and Boston Properties, Atlantic Wharf is located on Boston's Waterfront, bordering Boston’s Innovation District and Fort Point Channel.  A shining example of the Mayor’s transformative green building policies in Boston, sustainable design was applied throughout the development, including innovative rainwater storage and reuse systems, energy conserving mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, green roofs and daylighting design.  

“We are thrilled to have achieved the LEED Platinum designation at Atlantic Wharf,” stated Bryan Koop of Boston Properties. “We have been inspired by the Mayor’s vision to make Boston the greenest city in the country and our customers’ commitment to a sustainable workplace.  Atlantic Wharf is a model proving that development can be done with a conscious regard for the environment.”

Atlantic Wharf received the USGBC LEED Platinum rating for Core and Shell which is a green building rating system for designers, builders, developers, and new building owners who want to address sustainable design for new core and shell construction, covering base building elements such as structure, envelope and HVAC systems.

“Atlantic Wharf is a prime example of community sustainability, and evidence of just how much mixed-use projects can achieve in the realm of green building,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, U.S. Green Building Council.  “With a LEED Platinum rating, Atlantic Wharf is a real-life model that other mixed-use and neighborhood projects can learn from.”

At the event, Mayor Menino also announced the City’s steps to create the ‘Next Generation Green Building Policy,” that will include a Building Energy Disclosure Ordinance that will have all large commercial and residential buildings (above 50,000 square feet) report energy use annually, with the results published online.  In the coming summer months, City staff and key sector leaders and stakeholders will work draft an ordinance to be reviewed by Mayor Menino in the fall.