José Marques, APR
Media Relations Manager
513.629.1448
Mailing Address:
Western & Southern Financial Group
Media Relations
Mail Station 90
400 Broadway Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact:
José Marques
Media Relations Manager (513) 629-1448
Great American Tower at Queen City Square Receives LEED Gold Precertification
Project on track to be greenest, tallest and largest office building in downtown CincinnatiCINCINNATI — November 20, 2009 — Eagle Realty Group, the real estate investment and property management company of Western & Southern Financial Group, announced that the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently awarded Great American Tower at Queen City Square the Gold level of precertification under the LEED-Core and Shell (LEED-CS) program. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification is widely recognized across the real estate industry as objective confirmation that a building reflects environmentally friendly design and construction practices.
"Upon completion, Great American Tower at Queen City Square will become the greenest office building in downtown Cincinnati, as well as the tallest and largest," said Mario San Marco, president of Eagle Realty Group. "We registered for LEED from the USGBC with Silver-level certification as our target. By working closely with our design and construction teams, Eagle Realty Group was able to increase the number of environmentally responsible attributes of the project, thereby facilitating the USGBC’s precertification at the higher Gold level."
The Gold-level precertification follows the USGBC’s preliminary evaluation of the project’s design, attributes, and construction methodologies, and subsequent conclusion that these elements will result in a Gold level of certification for Great American Tower at Queen City Square. Final certification will be made after the USGBC conducts its independent document review following the building’s completion, a review that verifies the sustainable goals for the project indeed were achieved.
The LEED-Core and Shell rating evaluates the entire project except for the interior spaces of tenants.
Among Great American Tower at Queen City Square’s many sustainable elements that combine to create a higher quality indoor and outdoor environment for its occupants are:
- use of numerous energy and water conservation techniques;
- incorporation of materials with recycled content;
- extensive recycling of demolition debris and construction waste;
- high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows to allow maximum daylight in the office tower;
- use of specially coated insulated glass to avoid unwanted heat transfer between inside and outside the building;
- dedicated air-handling unit on each floor to provide proper heating and cooling;
- high-efficiency filters to improve the quality of the air; and
- central location of the project and inclusion of alternative transportation provisions, such as bike racks and showers for bicycle riders.
"The design and construction team continue to do an outstanding job of finding additional cost-effective ways to improve the sustainability of the building. This Gold precertification is important to us, our tenants and the Cincinnati region," San Marco said.
About LEED Green Building Rating System
The LEED Green Building Rating System was established by the USGBC in an effort to guide the design and construction of buildings in ways that reduce the impact on the environment. It is a voluntary, third-party rating system that recognizes high-performance, sustainable buildings that meet criteria in the six environmental categories of 1) sustainable sites; 2) water efficiency; 3) energy and atmosphere; 4) materials and resources; 5) indoor environmental quality; and 6) innovation and design process. To award a rating, the council conducts an independent document review after completion to verify that a project’s sustainable goals were achieved.
About the Great American Tower at Queen City Square
This latest phase of the master-planned Queen City Square complex will be a landmark building known as the Great American Tower at Queen City Square. Named after its lead tenant, Great American Insurance Company, the building will rise 41-stories above Third Street, and contain 800,000 square foot of office space over a 1,600-car parking garage. The spectacular design and dramatic tiara, at 665 feet above street level, will significantly enhance the city skyline. Precertified as LEED Gold, the building will be the most environmentally sensitive building in downtown Cincinnati. When connected with its sister building at 303 Broadway, the entire Queen City Square project contains 1 million + square feet of office and retail space, and more than 2,200 parking spaces.
Designed by Gyo Obata, founding partner of Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (HOK), one of the world’s largest architectural firms, the building features an inviting entry plaza and grand rotunda at Fourth and Sycamore, and a spacious promenade extending to the office tower lobby located on the southerly portion of the site. The siting of the office tower, and its predominantly glass exterior, are intended to maximize the views from the office floors, which are unobstructed in all directions.
Interior amenities include floor-to-ceiling windows and 9’6” ceilings, which provide abundant natural light in office areas. State-of-the art heating and cooling systems save energy and promote a healthy environment with generous amounts of fresh outdoor air. Column-free floors of up to 26,000 square feet allow for efficient space planning and flexibility for future office reconfigurations. Advanced technological infrastructure offers users the opportunity to take advantage of the latest in communications and high-speed data transmission.
Queen City Square is a development of Eagle Realty Group (a member of Western & Southern Financial Group), and is co-sponsored by its funding partners, the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority and the City of Cincinnati. Construction is under the responsibility of Turner Construction.
About Eagle Realty Group
Eagle Realty Group offers a comprehensive range of services covering three core real estate areas. Investment Management offers asset management and investment advisory services. The company’s expertise in real estate development and management are documented by an array of successful ventures ranging from hotels to shopping centers to low-income housing to senior housing and office buildings. In addition, Eagle Realty Group’s Multi-Family Property Management Division serves apartment communities and Eagle’s Commercial Property Management Division provides property management services. The organization oversees investment portfolios consisting of over 32 million square feet of all types of real estate located across the United States and valued in excess of $2.7 billion.
About the U.S. Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is the nation’s leading coalition of corporations, builders, universities, government agencies and nonprofit organizations working together to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work. Since its founding in 1993, the Council has grown to more than 5,400 member companies and organizations; a 50-person professional staff; a broad portfolio of LEED products and services; the industry’s popular Greenbuild International Conference and Expo; and a nationwide network of local chapters, affiliates and organizing groups.
About Western & Southern Financial Group
Western & Southern Financial Group (Western & Southern) is a Cincinnati-based diversified family of financial services companies with assets owned, managed and under our care in excess of $42 billion as of Dec. 31, 2008. A Fortune 500 company, Western & Southern has received Standard & Poor’s AA+ Very Strong rating (one of the nine strongest life insurance groups in the world), A.M. Best’s A+ Superior rating, Fitch’s AA Very Strong rating and Moody’s Aa3 Excellent rating, all with a Stable outlook. With a heritage dating to 1888, the group’s affiliates include The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company; Western-Southern Life Assurance Company; Capital Analysts Incorporated;1, 2 Columbus Life Insurance Company; Eagle Realty Group, LLC; Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.;1 Fort Washington Savings Company;3 IFS Financial Services, Inc.; Integrity Life Insurance Company; The Lafayette Life Insurance Company; National Integrity Life Insurance Company; Touchstone Advisors, Inc.;1 Touchstone Securities, Inc,2 and W&S Financial Group Distributors, Inc. For more information, visit www.westernsouthern.com. Western & Southern is the title sponsor of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women’s Open tennis tournaments.
1 A registered investment advisor.
2 A registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC.
3 Member FDIC.
Ratings refer to the financial strength of the insurance company and not to the safety, stability or performance of any investment product.
one of the eight highest-rated life insurance groups
in the world based on Standard & Poor's AA+ Very Strong rating.
Rating current as of November 30, 2010.