55 Allen Plaza Achieves LEED Gold Certification, Now Features Zipcar Service

55 Allen Plaza, a Class-A, 350,000-square-foot office tower in downtown Atlanta that is managed and leased by Lincoln Property Co. Southeast, has achieved LEED Gold certification.

Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council and administered by the Green Building Certification Institute, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program provides third-party verification that a building operates in a sustainable manner. Certification is awarded on four levels, and Gold is the second-highest level behind Platinum.

LEED certification is based on a number of environmental criteria, and 55 Allen Plaza achieved LEED Gold status because of its indoor air quality, strengthened in part by the use of environmentally cleaning products; its electronics recycling program, which has diverted 250 pounds of electronics from landfills in 2012; its water conservation, which has reduced water consumption by 30 percent; and its overall energy efficiency.

“We are honored and thrilled that 55 Allen Plaza has achieved this environmental honor,” said Tony Bartlett, senior vice president of Lincoln Property Co. Southeast. “This certification is a tribute to the outstanding job that our entire management team has done with 55 Allen Plaza and is a testament to Lincoln’s commitment to taking care of our environment.”

In other environmental news from 55 Allen Plaza, tenants of the building now have access to the Zipcar car-sharing service. Tenants can reserve cars by the hour or the day for personal or business use. Rates start at $10 per hour, and gas, insurance and the first 180 miles of travel are included with each reservation. Tenants looking for more information should go to www.zipcar.com/allenplaza.

The goal of Zipcar is to encourage people to reduce their overall use of automobiles and rely more heavily on other forms of transportation, such as public transit, biking and walking.

Overlooking the Downtown Connector on downtown Atlanta’s northern edge, 55 Allen Plaza provides tenants with easy access to the city’s intown markets, and, as part of the Allen Plaza mixed-use development, the building is surrounded by amenities including restaurants, the W-Atlanta Downtown Hotel & Residences, retail and Centennial Olympic Park.