Heralded by the Obama White House’s Better Building Challenge that seeks 20 percent energy reductions by 2020, the California Best Buildings Challenge tasks participants to reach 20 percent reductions in energy, water and waste in existing commercial buildings in just two years!

Seven new companies, including Bayer, Integral Group, Lockheed Martin, Method, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Webcor Builders and XL Construction will join existing participants Adobe, Genentech, Google, Prudential Real Estate Investors, SAP and Zynga. Together the companies own or operate more than six million square feet of commercial building space.

Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chairman of the USGBC made the announcement on-stage at the W Hotel in San Francisco during a Road to Greenbuild event leading up to the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, which runs from November 12 – 17 in San Francisco. The event was attended by 150 regional executives and included a luncheon, keynote by Fedrizzi, and appearances by executives from the participating companies.

“California companies have always been trail blazers,” said Dan Geiger, executive director, USGBC-NCC. “When President Obama initiated the Better Buildings Challenge, we thought California firms could go further with the California Best Buildings Challenge. In the lead up to Greenbuild coming to its birthplace San Francisco, these firms are stepping up to pursue aggressive environmental goals in a landmark accelerated time frame – and most importantly, to inspire others to do the same.”

USGBC-NCC developed the Challenge, launching it with former President Clinton at the closing plenary event of the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative America meeting, which focused on identifying solutions to the economic turmoil in the United States. CGI America identified the Challenge as an excellent approach to addressing clean electricity and efficiency.

“Some of the companies are committing to pursue the Challenge in already very efficient, even LEED Platinum, buildings,” said Ashleigh Talberth, of USGBC-NCC, director of the California Best Buildings Challenge. “This Challenge could kick start a new wave of unprecedented, cutting-edge sustainability.”

The USGBC is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings by utilizing its market-transforming LEED green building certification program, educational programs, a nationwide network of professionals, and the annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. USGBC-NCC is one of the largest chapters in the country with more than 22,000 constituents, 10,000 LEED accredited professionals and more than five percent of the world’s LEED-certified square footage.

Allen Smith, CEO of Prudential Real Estate Investors, said, “As a major investor in commercial real estate around the world, PREI is committed to our investors, our tenants, and each other to find creative, sustainable approaches to building, improving and managing property. We’re excited to be part of the California Best Buildings Challenge as it is an opportunity to demonstrate that commitment by bringing out the best in us while improving our environmental practices.”

“SAP is committed to developing innovations that help run operations more sustainably for ourselves and our customers. A key part of SAP’s sustainability leadership is our dedication to environmentally-sustainable buildings, including optimizing the efficiency of our existing buildings and when creating new buildings from the ground up. By participating in the California Best Buildings Challenge, all companies have an opportunity to demonstrate how they are driving sustainability into their core business strategy and communities,” said Peter Graf, chief sustainability officer at SAP.

Phil Williams, Webcor Builders’ vice president of technical systems and sustainability, stated, “As the region’s leading builder, sustainability is pivotal for Webcor’s designs, job sites, business practices, and research and development. Through a combination of experience and innovation, we are fundamentally committed to improving the quality of the built environment and collaboratively delivering this knowledge to the industry.”

Dave Beck, vice president, XL Construction, added, “XL Construction is excited to be joining the likes of Genentech, Google and Zynga in the California Best Buildings Challenge. As a builder committed to sustainability, we are always seeking better ways to serve our clients and communities. In challenging ourselves to meet the 20% reduction of energy, water, and waste in two years, we will be implementing strategies at home that we can then bring to our clients with living proof of efficacy and cost-effectiveness. We also hope to lead the industry in continuing to push the boundaries of efficiency and sustainable building.”

Article source: http://www.costar.com/News/Article/13-Bay-Area-Companies-Join-USGBCs-California-Best-Building-Challenge/141700

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Nov 29, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
Harvest Properties, a commercial real estate investment and development
firm based in Emeryville, today announced with Prudential Real Estate
Investors that it has signed global business communications giant Avaya
to a 275,155 square-foot lease agreement.

Avaya plans to relocate employees and operations now dispersed in
several facilities and offices to the Towers at Great America in Santa
Clara, which is owned by PREI(R) and managed by Harvest
Properties. Avaya currently sublets 200,000 square feet at the property.

By mid-2012, Avaya will occupy about 43 percent of the 645,651
square-foot office complex located at 4555, 4557 and 4655 Great America
Parkway. Avaya joins other substantial tech tenants to the Towers at
Great America, including Tellabs Operations and Citrix.

Avaya was represented in lease negotiations by Douglas Sugimoto of
Cornish Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank; PREI was represented by
Christian Marent and Bob Steinbock of CB Richard Ellis. Terms of the
deal were undisclosed.

The 10-year old office campus was acquired by PREI in 2001 from Nortel
Networks as a sale-lease back; following Nortel’s Chapter 11 filing,
PREI repositioned the single tenant campus to a multi-tenant office
park. In October 2009, Harvest Properties partnered with PREI to oversee
the repositioning, which included substantial lobby upgrades and common
area finishes, multiple exterior signage sites and tenant identity, and
shared amenities including an upscale cafe, an on-site management
office, state-of-the-art fitness facilities and conference centers, all
completed in 2010.

The Towers’ existing infrastructure, abundant parking, attractive
grounds and desirable location rounded out the package that attracted
Avaya to the office campus.

“Avaya recognized the value in the buildings’ modern facilities and
infrastructure, convenient location and on-site property management,”
said John Winther, founder and managing partner of Harvest Properties.
“The sheer size of the campus allows Avaya to consolidate and streamline
its operations by relocating employees and facilities to one centralized
campus,” said Winther.

“Avaya is a long-term tenant of The Towers at Great America, and it
speaks well of our business relationship that Avaya is leasing more
space,” said Kristin Paul, a director with PREI. “This sizable
transaction bodes well for the overall local market and the
repositioning of the asset provides an attractive and desirable location
for Avaya and other technology-related tenants,” added Paul.

About Avaya

Avaya is a global leader in next-generation business collaboration and
communications solutions. The company provides unified communications,
real-time video collaboration, contact center and data solutions, and
related services directly and through its channel partners to
organizations and companies of all sizes around the world. For more
information, please visit
www.avaya.com .

About Prudential Real Estate Investors

PREI is a leader in the global real estate investment management
business, offering a broad range of investment vehicles that invest in
private and public market opportunities in the United States, Europe,
the Middle East, Asia, Australia and Latin America. Headquartered in
Parsippany, N.J., PREI has other offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, New
York, San Francisco, Lisbon, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Munich, Paris,
Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Beijing,
Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo; as well as representatives in Milan and
Zurich. As of June 30, 2011, PREI managed approximately $48.1 billion in
gross real estate assets ($30.2 billion net) on behalf of more than 490
clients worldwide. For more information, visit
http://www.prei.com .

About Harvest Properties

Founded in 2002, Harvest Properties is a leading full service commercial
real estate investment firm specializing in acquiring, developing,
managing and financing commercial property, primarily through
joint-venture investments in northern California. Harvest Properties
strives to generate attractive returns for its financial partners and
provide creative real estate solutions and outstanding service.

Harvest Properties portfolio comprises approximately eight million
square feet of office, industrial, RD and retail properties in the San
Francisco Bay Area. For more information, please visit
www.harvestproperties.net .

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:

http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50086367lang=en

SOURCE: Harvest Properties

        for Harvest Properties
        Julie Wellik, 415-472-3878
        jwellik@pacbell.net
        or
        Harvest Properties
        Sarah Irving, 510-594-2050 ext. 113
        Partner

Copyright Business Wire 2011

Article source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/harvest-properties-and-prudential-real-estate-investors-ink-275000-sf-lease-deal-with-avaya-2011-11-29