Tishman Chairman Alan D. Levy, along with Managing Director Julian Edwards, and Managing Director of EZ MEP International Carlo Marzot gave a an exclusive press briefing Tuesday at the Marketing Suite of Sofia Airport Center highlighting the advantages of the “Green Building” concept and the benefits of having a LEED certification.

The media event was also attended by US Ambassador to Bulgaria James Warlick and US Commercial Attaché Scott Pozil. His Excellency spoke in favor of the LEED certified buildings from his own experience as the first ever building in Bulgaria to achieve such status is US Embassy built a few years ago.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized certification scheme of "green" buildings.

“Tishman International is proud to play an integral role in bringing energy efficiency and environmental sustainability to Sofia as it grows in significance as a global business hub. LEED certification creates a win-win situation for businesses and consumers who directly benefit through reduced heating and cooling costs while also reducing consumption of natural valuable resources,” commented the Chairman of Tishman, Alan Levy.

“It only costs 2%-3% more money to build such an environment-friendly building but this leads to a 20% greater return on investment,” His Excellency said in turn.

In his words, the Sofia Airport Center, which is to become Bulgaria’s largest business park and is located right near the Sofia International Airport, is being built with the American investors employing Bulgarian engineers and workers, and by using construction materials that came from within a range of 500 km.

“The Sofia Airport Center demonstrates to the foreign investors that they can come here in Bulgaria, be environment-friendly, and make a profit,” Warlick stated.

He has also announced that the American Embassy is teaming with the American Chamber of Commerce to organize a green building conference in Sofia on October 7.

“The conference is an opportunity to discuss green building developments and innovations as well as public and private green building programs that are making a difference in the United States and Europe. We are expecting experts and business people from the United States, Europe and Bulgaria to share their experiences and insights” said the Commercial Attaché of the US Embassy in Bulgaria Scott Pozil

Tishman's Sofia Airport Center's newest Class A office building, is the first commercial LEED-certified office building in Bulgaria, and is expected to achieve LEED's "silver" status by using environmentally friendly construction materials and becoming an environmentally responsible, healthy place to work. SAC design includes sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy efficient materials and resources and overall indoor environmental quality.

The environmental and financial benefits to earning LEED certification include lower operating costs and increased asset value; the reduction of waste sent to landfills; the conservation of energy and water and the reduction of harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

The building's energy consumption is drastically reduced due to the use of renewable sources of energy such as natural daylight through open atriums and double-glazed windows, solar shading via cantilevered sun louvers and dual-coated glass on building facades designed to reduce heat and solar impact and a complex, energy-efficient Building Management System (BMS) that monitors outdoor temperature and regulates climate controls with a variable air volume HVAC system.

The total office and commercial space of the Sofia Airport Center will be about 180 000 square meters upon completion. The LEED-certified Class A building, which will feature a green roof and an interior garden, has a total office space area of 17 000 square meters.

The already completed logistics center of the largest Bulgarian business park has an area of 30 000 square meters, and has already been 70% occupied by tenants.

The total investment in the Sofia Airport Center, a joint project of Tishman International and GE Real Estate, is estimated at about EUR 250 M.

Tishman International Companies is currently active in the United States, United Kingdom and Central & Eastern Europe including Bulgaria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania. The firm specializes, in the acquisition, development, management and financing of commercial real estate. It established its European headquarters in London, UK, in 1986. Its roster of clients and partners has included Metropolitan Life, New York Life, Teachers Insurance, Bank of America, Grosvenor International, Citibank, American Express, Fidelity Investments, Lend Lease, HVB Real Estate, and many others.

GE Real Estate currently has over EUR 1 B invested in Central and Eastern Europe. The Company has invested or developed in the retail, office, residential and logistics sectors in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. The Company made its first investment in Turkey in 2006. GE Real Estate has more than US billion in assets and a presence in 31 markets throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand.

Tags: James Warlick, US Ambassador, Sofia Airport Center, Alan Levy, Tishman International Group, Tishman International, US Embassy, GE Real Estate, LEED, business park, Sofia Airport, Bulgarian Properties