350 West Mart Center LEED certified

Chicago - September 9, 2009 — MMPI has announced that its 350 West Mart Center building, located in Chicago, Ill., has been awarded LEED Gold Certification (Existing Buildings, Operations & Maintenance) by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED-EBOM). LEED certification is the nationally accepted benchmark for design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

The LEED-EBOM Gold Certification also includes the 530-room Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza, making it the first LEED certified hotel in the city of Chicago.

350 West Mart Center was built in 1977 and is located adjacent to The Merchandise Mart. The building features a 25-story mixed use tower, encompassing 2.2 million square feet. In addition to the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza, the building showcases 1.75 million square feet of commercial space and a professional conference center. 350 West Mart Center is home to a prestigious roster of nationally known businesses such as AT&T, Ogilvy and Mather, Chicago Sun-Times, Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago, Fiserv, Upshot, RCN Cable Networks, Comcast SportsNet Chicago and a wholesale apparel mart.

“LEED certification is critical to the future of 350 West Mart Center, and to the city of Chicago as a whole,” said Christopher G. Kennedy, President, MMPI. “It defines how we will compete, it helps attract tenants, it reduces our operating costs, it reassures our investors, and it enables us to recruit executives around the country.”

LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building meets the highest performance standards and is an environmentally responsible and healthy place to live and work. The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for sustainable buildings that was designed by leading experts in the construction industry.

To earn LEED certification, a building must meet certain prerequisites and performance criterion within five key areas of environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Projects are awarded Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification depending on the number of credits achieved.

LEED was developed to define and clarify the term “green building” by establishing a common standard of measurement, as well as to recognize environmental leadership in the industry while raising consumer awareness of the benefits of green building. LEED-certified buildings conserve energy and water, reduce waste sent to landfills, have lower operating costs are healthy and comfortable for occupants and demonstrate the owners’ commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

“The strength of USGBC has always been the collective strength of our leaders in the building industry," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. "Given the extraordinary importance of climate protection and the central role of the building industry in that effort, MMPI demonstrates their leadership through their LEED certification of 350 West Mart Center.”

The Delta Institute assisted MMPI in its path toward certification. The Delta Institute is a nonprofit organization formed in 1998 that works for a cleaner environment, healthier communities and a greener economy.