DC Is LEED Leader for USGBC

WASHINGTON, DC-Washington, DC once again heads the USGBC's list of top performers in LEED certification. The locally based group's annual ranking shows that the nation's capital certified 110 projects last year, for a total of 22.2 million square feet.

While other states logged higher square feet, it is the per capital square footage of LEED certifications that drives the ranking, and DC logged 36.97 square feet in this category.

This was far and away superior to any of the other ranking nine. Virginia, which came in second, could muster only 3.7 square feet per capita out of its 170 certifications filed. Colorado came in third with 2.1 square feet (99 projects), followed by Massachusetts' 2.05 (106 projects) and Illinois with 1.9 square feet per capita in 156 projects. Maryland, New York, Washington, California, Texas and Nevada rounded out the top 10.

DC, though, is pushing the envelop with green trends. Besides having the highest number of LEED certificated buildings, consider the following developments:

• Last year Property Group Partners acquired the fee interest for three blocks of the recessed portion of Interstate 395 in downtown Washington. The 2.2 million-square-foot, mixed-use development known as Capitol Crossing is cleared to begin this year. It's designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification.

• Also, last year Bill Marriott in his corporate blog Marriott on the Move: LEED-ing the Way told of two "green" new-build hotels recently opened their doors as part of an innovative construction partnership with U.S. Green Building Council called the LEED Volume Program.

"In partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council, Marriott's architecture and construction team developed a set of pre-approved LEED design plans called The LEED Volume Program. It makes it easier for our owners to build LEED hotels because it reduces the cost and takes the guesswork out of the process."