Home > Newsroom > Golden Triangle BID Named LEED Platinum Community
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 7, 2019) – The Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID), Washington’s central business district, has earned LEED Platinum – the highest level of LEED certification — under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED for Communities rating system. The Golden Triangle is the first business improvement district in the world to be named a LEED-certified community.
LEED — which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. LEED enables cities, communities, and buildings around the globe to measure and track sustainability, evaluating key metrics that include energy, water, waste, transportation and human experience. The Golden Triangle reached maximum scores in energy, water and transportation, as well as high-level performance scores in waste and human experience. The BID also received points for its recycling program, the installation of green infrastructure and its homeless outreach, community events, public art and placemaking programs such as Golden Streets and Golden Haiku.
“We are proud the Golden Triangle is the first BID in the world to be named a LEED-certified community achieving Platinum level certification,” said Leona Agouridis, Executive Director of the Golden Triangle BID. “This honor is a tribute to the community’s incredible commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability. Owners and managers of properties in the Golden Triangle have an impressive track record of encouraging and implementing environment-friendly systems and practices in their buildings. As a neighborhood, we are driven by a shared vision for a resilient, green, and inclusive central business district that is a great place to work, live, and play.”
The Golden Triangle is currently home to 63 LEED-certified buildings — representing 42 percent of the total built area in the BID. The prevalence of LEED-certified buildings underscores the value of sustainable building design and energy efficiency to property owners and investors.
“The Golden Triangle’s LEED certification is about more than just sustainable development, it is about bringing communities together to create clean, safe and vibrant spaces that improve our standard of living,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO, USGBC. “USGBC’s own headquarters resides within the Golden Triangle BID, which makes this certification especially meaningful. We see every day how the BID’s events and initiatives support residents and visitors and strive to deliver a healthier, more sustainable environment and a LEED Platinum certification is verification of those efforts.”
Creating sustainable public spaces has long been a priority for the Golden Triangle. Since 2012, the BID has built six rain gardens and has helped convert 12,000 square feet of asphalt and concrete into green space. Currently, the BID is building 10 new rain gardens and 10 expanded tree boxes along 19th Street, NW between K and M Streets. Installation is scheduled to be completed by the end of November. The project adds more than 4,500 square feet of green space, lining two full blocks on one of the most vibrant corridors in DC. The rain gardens capture and filter millions of gallons of stormwater runoff annually and provide a refuge and resting spot for pollinators and people.
The redesign of Penn West — Pennsylvania Avenue west of the White House — is another urban sustainability initiative championed by the Golden Triangle which helped it earn LEED Platinum. Building on the vision created by public and private stakeholders brought together by the BID, the Golden Triangle has been working with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) on construction plans for the iconic corridor for several years. The redesign of Pennsylvania Avenue from 17th Street to Washington Circle includes an acre of new green space and tree boxes that capture and filter rain water, an expanded tree canopy featuring a new double row of trees, and a half-mile of median protected bike lanes extending the city’s bicycle network.
To help make DC’s central business district a more bike-friendly neighborhood, the Golden Triangle BID has installed more than 400 bike racks throughout the neighborhood, which accommodate parking for 800 bikes. The Golden Triangle also worked with the city to bring protected bikes lanes to L Street (eastbound) and M Street (westbound).
The LEED Platinum certification was presented to Leona Agouridis by Mahesh Ramanujam on October 3 at the U.S. Green Building Council located in the Golden Triangle neighborhood.
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About the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District
Formed in 1998, the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID) enhances Washington, DC’s central business district, the 43-square-block neighborhood stretching from The White House to Dupont Circle. Home to roughly 6,000 businesses, the BIDs provides a clean, safe, and vibrant environment for hundreds of thousands of workers, residents, and visitors, and encourages economic development through capital projects, public art, sustainability and events. The Golden Triangle has been awarded LEED Platinum, the highest level of LEED certification, by the U.S. Green Building Council. It is the first BID in the world to be certified through the LEED for Communities program. For more information, visit: goldentriangledc.com and connect on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
About the U.S. Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. USGBC works toward its mission of market transformation through its LEED green building program, robust educational offerings, an international network of local community leaders, the annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, the Center for Green Schools, and advocacy in support of public policy that encourages and enables green buildings and communities. For more information, visit usgbc.org and connect on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Media Contacts Golden Triangle BID: Mareike Finck, mfinck@goldentriangledc.com, 202-463-3400
USGBC: Sarah Stanley, sstanley@usgbc.org, 202.256.0456
