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Sustainability

First Arizona community awarded gold certification in sustainability and top ten in the US

The public/private partnership between ASU and Catellus achieves national sustainability recognition.

Posted 5/20/21

The Novus Innovation Corridor earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED-ND) gold certification last month from the U.S Green Building Council.

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Sustainability

First Arizona community awarded gold certification in sustainability and top ten in the US

The public/private partnership between ASU and Catellus achieves national sustainability recognition.

Posted

The Novus Innovation Corridor earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED-ND) gold certification last month from the U.S Green Building Council.

Novus is the first LEED-ND community certified at any level in Arizona. The Gold certification is the second-highest certification awarded by USGBC on its scale of Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum designations. The 355-acre mixed-use, public-private partnership between Arizona State University and Catellus Development Corporation is located adjacent to the ASU Tempe campus.

“This is a remarkable achievement to earn certification at this level so early into a long-term development,” said Brian Kearney, first vice president of Catellus, master developer of the multi-phased Novus community. “Our company is committed to creating sustainable mixed-use communities that integrate energy-efficient design with cutting-edge technology.”

The 62 points awarded to Novus qualifies it nationally among the top ten best-scoring LEED-ND projects of all time.

Certified green buildings, compact development, walkable streets, and proximity to transit facilities are key sustainable components of the development.

This announcement follows recent news that the first Class-A commercial office building in Novus’ Phase III, also earned a LEED Gold certification as an individual project.

“We have set an early high bar within Novus both at the community and project levels, an appropriate step that is important to our partner, ASU,” Kearney said.

Novus’ first phase was the development of the 2.1 million square foot Marina Heights regional hub for State Farm, followed shortly by the $307 million reinvention of Sun Devil Stadium. Novus is currently in Phase III of development, a 19-acre area at the northwest corner of University Drive and Rural Road. In addition to the 777 Tower’s completion in June 2020, the Hyatt Place/Hyatt House hotel opened its doors in August 2020, while the 318-unit Piedmont, Novus’ first multifamily residential project, is scheduled to welcome its first residents in late May.

ASU has a long history of focusing on sustainability under the guidance of its president, Dr. Michael M. Crow. ASU is currently rated 5th in the world and 1st in the USA by the Times Higher Education Impact Ratings, the only global performance measures that assess universities against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Morgan R. Olsen, ASU executive vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer said, “The evolution of the Novus Innovation Corridor as an exemplar of what can be accomplished through a strong partnership between an innovative global research university and the private sector is truly exciting.”