BioStar Projects Honored by DOE’s Better Building Challenge
MC Realty, Tutera Group and U.S. Toy were recently honored with awards presented by the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge, in conjunction with US Green Building Council, Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) and International Facility Management Association (IFMA) for exemplary energy efficient LED lighting upgrades completed by BioStar Lighting. The awards recognize real estate owners who are leaders in implementing exceptional energy savings through high-efficiency lighting and controls.
Tutera Group and U.S. Toy were honored at the BOMA 2016 International Conference. MC Realty accepted their award at the 2016 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo alongside other corporations that are actively working to reduce their energy use such as Arby’s Restaurant Group and MGM Resorts International.
MC Realty received two 2016 Lighting Energy Efficiency in Parking (LEEP) campaign awards for “Highest Percentage Energy Savings in a Retrofit at a Single Parking Structure” and “Exemplary Office Sector Parking Facility”. BioStar’s design team achieved 83% energy savings at Poindexter Garage.
BioStar Lighting and MC Realty have partnered on 9 LED lighting projects, mainly retrofitting parking garages and stairwells with energy efficient LEDs. Notable projects include the garage at the Marriott Downtown and the Broadway Square Building. At Broadway Square, BioStar retrofitted the parking garage and common area lighting. In total, MC Realty’s upgrades will save an estimated 2,000,000 kWh per year which is equivalent to the electricity use in 208 US homes. This will reduce lighting costs for electricity and maintenance by more than 80%, saving more than $265,000 annually.
Tutera Group received the “Exemplary Commercial Real Estate and Hospitality Sector Site” award from the Interior Lighting Campaign for the LED upgrade of the office building containing their headquarters at 7611 State Line Road. More than 600 lights were retrofitted, reducing the building’s lighting energy use by 62% and saving over 100,000 kWh of electricity per year. The commercial real estate and senior living management company is now in the process of upgrading their portfolio of properties and has completed 13 turnkey LED retrofits with BioStar.
“With most of our Kansas City portfolio complete, we are excited to leverage BioStar’s nationwide capabilities and start looking at other projects outside of the Kansas City metro. BioStar is currently evaluating nine more of our assisted living communities throughout Missouri and Illinois,” says CEO Joe Tutera.
U.S. Toy received the “Exemplary Retail, Food Service or Grocery Sector Site” award from the Interior Lighting Campaign for the complete LED upgrade of their headquarters in Grandview, MO. BioStar replaced more than 450 fluorescent fixtures in the office in a weekend and retrofitted their warehouses. The projects resulted in a total energy savings estimate of 340,000 kWh per year, reducing their lighting energy use by nearly 70% and eliminating maintenance headaches.
According to Seth Freiden, CEO of U.S. Toy, upgrading to energy efficient lighting with BioStar “supports U.S. Toy’s ongoing commitment to sustainability including retrofitting our factories with energy-efficient lighting, controls, solar, and increased use of recycled packaging.”
“BioStar’s projects represent some of the best-in-class facility retrofit lighting projects in the United States,” said Paul Wessel, director, USGBC. “By implementing high-performance energy-efficient lighting systems, companies like MC Realty, Tutera Group and U.S. Toy are not only cutting energy use and maintenance costs, but helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and global electricity consumption.”
BioStar is thrilled that their clients were honored for their energy efficiency efforts.
“Our design team focuses on high-quality project-specific solutions that result in maximum energy savings, ensure the best paybacks and guarantee a long product life. The Department of Energy awards recognize the exemplary performance of these solutions,” said Mark Mansheim, former President of BioStar Lighting.