The Washington, DC-based US Green Building Council has selected the tallest tower in Midtown at Peachtree and 14th streets as "the first high-rise office building in the world" to be pre-certified for Silver status in the organization's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Core and Shell Development program (LEED-CS), says Hines vice president Kurt Hartman.

The tallest class A office tower in the metro area is the 55-story, 1.3-million-sf, 1,023-foot tall Bank of America Plaza in Downtown, owned by a Cousins Properties Inc. partnership.

"The achievement as the world's only high-rise office project to receive this recognition represents our firm's long-standing commitment as an industry leader in sustainable and high-performance development," Hartman says. Hines has three other developments in the LEED-CS pilot program.

The 1180 Peachtree building was recognized for its submission of documented plans to satisfy more than 30 green and high-performance requirements, Hartman says in a prepared statement. The office tower will contain several green features, including a water-management system that will decrease storm water by covering half of the roof with absorbing vegetation.

"The remaining storm water, along with condensation collected from the building's mechanical systems, will be channeled to an underground storage vault and used for irrigation, circumventing the need for city water," Hartman adds.

The building was also rated on its use of building materials in four categories--recycled materials including concrete, steel, glass, curtainwall, drywall and ceiling tile; encouragement of alternative transportation; minimization of transportation costs; and impact by using local materials and its attention and alternatives to the off-gassing of volatile organic compounds found in adhesives, sealants and carpets.

Pickard Chilton Architects of New Haven, CT designed 1180 Peachtree. The building will have a 119-foot lighted veil at the its top; a 30-foot high lobby; two restaurants; and a 24-foot-wide walkway connecting to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's planned Symphony Hall.

National Office Partners, a partnership between Hines and California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), is funding 1180 Peachtree's development. Area construction sources tell GlobeSt.com the building is going up at a hard cost of at least $200 per sf. Hines didn't disclose the development cost of the project.

That Downtown Atlanta law firm of King & Spalding LLP is 1180's anchor with a 400,000-sf, 15-year signed lease at an estimated aggregate value of $156 million, based by area brokers on an estimated effective rent of $26 per sf.