DC Business District Named World’s First LEED-Certified Community

WASHINGTON DC – Washington DC’s central business district, the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District, has earned the highest level of LEED certification, LEED Platinum, under the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED for communities rating system. This distinction marks the first business improvement district to be named a LEED-certified community in the world.

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program, is used as a green building rating system; evaluating key metrics such as energy, water, waste, transportation and human experience within buildings, communities and cities around the world to measure and track sustainability practices.

Receiving the highest-level certification, the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District reached maximum scores in energy, water and transportation, as well as high-level performance scores in waste and human experience. The district additionally received points for its recycling program and its green infrastructure installation, as well as its homeless outreach, community events, public art and placemaking programs, such as Golden Streets and Golden Haiku.

The district currently houses 63 LEED-certified buildings, comprising 42% of the district’s total built area.

In effort to support residents and deliver a healthier, more sustainable environment, the district creates sustainable spaces; building six rain gardens and converting 12,000 square feet of asphalt and concrete into green space, since 2012. In addition, the district is currently installing ten new rain gardens and ten expanded tree boxes, adding more than 4,500 square feet of green space and capturing and filtering millions of gallons of stormwater runoff annually. The project will line two full blocks, along 19^th Street between K and M Streets, and is expected to be completed in November.

The Golden Triangle Business Improvement District is additionally implementing the urban sustainability initiative to redesign Penn West (Pennsylvania Avenue, west of the White House) from 17^th Street to Washington Circle. For the project’s construction plans, the district has been working with District Department of Transportation (DDOT) for several years in order to add an acre of new green space, tree boxes that capture and filter rain water, an expanded, double-row tree canopy and a half-mile of median protected bike lanes.

Aiming to extend the city’s overall bicycle network and create a more bike-friendly neighborhood, the district has installed more than 400 bike racks throughout the neighborhood, accommodating parking for 800 bikes.

Executive director of the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District, Leona Agouridis described the achievement as “a tribute to the community’s incredible commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability.”

The LEED Platinum certification was presented to Agouridis, by USGBC president and CEO, Mahesh Ramanujam, on October 3 at the USGBC’s headquarters, located within the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District.

Golden Triangle Business Improvement District, formed in 1998, is a 43-square-block neighborhood, stretching from The White House to Dupont Circle. The central business district hosts roughly 6,000 businesses.