ORANGE, CA—In addition to more green certifications, sustainability progress in the office sector will be made in water-use reduction and reducing the carbon footprint through waste management, recycling and improved energy performance, Granite Properties' Jason Purvis tells GlobeSt.com. Purvis recently joined the company as senior managing director Southern California, replacing Tom Miller, who will retire Dec. 31 to pursue a career transition into faith-based nonprofit work.

Purvis will be responsible for Granite's acquisitions, leasing, development and market positioning in Southern California, reporting to executive managing director Scott Martin. Granite manages and operates in Southern California more than 1.26 million square feet of class-A LEED-certified and ENERGY STAR-rated office buildings, 14% of its total business.

Prior to joining the firm, Purvis was a regional VP at the Irvine Co., where he was responsible for acquisition, development and reinvestment efforts on projects valued at more than $2.9 billion through California and Chicago.

We spoke with Purvis about his goals in his new role, where he sees Granite moving as sustainability becomes increasingly more important and how sustainable office buildings are changing in this market.

GlobeSt.com: What are your goals in your new role with Granite Properties?

Purvis: To continue to grow Granite's presence and give back to our local communities—not only in Orange County, Glendale and Burbank, where we own and manage six high-quality office buildings, but also in other major Los Angeles submarkets and San Diego. We see a lot of opportunity in these markets to continue to create daily workplace experiences that inspire people to flourish.

GlobeSt.com: What direction do you see the company moving in as sustainability becomes increasingly more important in office buildings?

Purvis: Granite is committed to creating exceptional work environments for its customers while conserving natural resources, leveraging the use of building design, landscape, education, technology, building systems and building-management practices. Our company has received the ENERGY STAR Top Performer award five times, offers e-waste recycling programs in all markets and is a member of the ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance.

Our Southern California properties are LEED-certified and ENERGY STAR-rated. Orange City Square was the first LEED-Gold-certified building in the City of Orange and received the LEEP (Lighting Energy Efficiency in Parking) award in 2015. All of our buildings in Southern California offer electric- vehicle-charging stations, and Orange City Square offers complementary bike rentals for customers as part of a broader transportation program.

As we grow in this region, we will continue to aim to be environmental stewards and explore emerging technologies and processes to reduce our footprint in partnership with our customers. Apart from sustainability, we will continue to focus on creating workspaces that support wellness, inspire creativity and offer comfort with amenities like on-site fitness centers, indoor “corporate living rooms,” outdoor common spaces for people to work and socialize, on-site restaurants and coffee shops.

GlobeSt.com: How do you see sustainable office buildings changing in Southern California going forward?

Purvis: In addition to more buildings being LEED certified and ENERGY STAR rated, there will continue to be progress made in water use reduction because of California's water limitations and reducing the carbon footprint through waste management, recycling and improved energy performance. There will also be more use of new technologies to enable energy efficiency including greater use of solar and battery storage, individual temperature control and innovative architecture that offer sustainable techniques to help create a healthy and engaging workspace, such as utilization of natural light.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about sustainability in office buildings?

Purvis: Sustainable office buildings are not just great for the environment; they also play a big part in improving a workplace environment and contributing to the overall health and wellness of our communities. Sustainability is beyond just building systems and includes education, management practices, building design, landscape and partnership with building customers. From indoor air quality and green cleaning to offering complementary bikes to customers to enjoy a ride to a nearby restaurant and providing e-recycling programs, these big and small sustainability and wellness efforts benefit our customers and communities.

Instant Insights /

Sustainability Will Continue to Change the Office Market

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