By Roger Yohem
INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS
April 9, 2010
A new 113,500 square foot industrial building near Tucson International Airport, created by the developers of Rockefeller Center in New York City, has earned some impressive state and national recognition. Located at 6855 S. Lisa Frank Ave., the Class A, $10 million Rockefeller Group Distribution Center is the first industrial building in Southern Arizona to be certified LEED Silver.
LEED refers to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards for rating buildings by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Also, the development/construction team won the coveted AZRE RED (Real Estate Development) 2010 Award for the Best Industrial Project in Arizona. The team included The Rockefeller Group of Manhattan, New York, represented by Arizona regional director Mark Singerman; Chestnut Construction, 2127 E. Speedway, represented by Vice President Robert Sisley; and PICOR Commercial Real Estate, 1100 N. Wilmot Road, represented by President Mike Hammond.
The “green” design of the new Rockefeller Group Distribution Center produced a 40 percent energy use reduction.
The industrial building/distribution center is the Rockefeller Group’s first development project in Tucson. The structure’s envelope, lighting, heating/cooling system, reflective roof material, dual-glazed glass, and use of skylights and photo cells to control lighting all optimize the building’s energy efficiency. Altogether, the green features resulted in a 40 percent energy use reduction compared to normal design standards.
Rick Engineering, 3945 E. Fort Lowell Road, also worked on the award-winning project. Towne Air Freight currently occupies 17,711 square feet of space at the center. Picor is handling the leasing.
