Bank of America Building: A New Green Standard?

The 55-story BOA building — officially known as 1 Bryant Park — was always going to attract attention even on the crowded Manhattan skyline. At 1,200 ft. tall, it edges out the venerable Chrysler building for the honor of second tallest tower in the city. And its reflective, faceted shape and 255-ft. spire draw eyeballs from almost any angle. But what the building's owners, architect and developers like to talk about most are its green features, a host of innovations that have made the tower the first commercial high-rise to earn a platinum designation from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program — the official best-in-show judges for environmentally friendly architecture.

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The 54-story Bank of America Tower, at 42nd Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, is the new kid on the block, opening in 2008 (and officially opening only last month). The joint venture between Bank of America and the Durst Organization won points for its location, design and environmental friendliness. "It's state of the art," Mr. Knakal said. "It's environmentally friendly, well located and well operated." One Bryant Park passes the mathematics part of the value quotient with flying colors, said Dan Fasulo, managing director of real estate research firm Real Capital Analytics. "It's a big building, with a number of tenants on long-term leases, and they are charging top-of-market rents.

This Week's Photos: Opening of the Bank of America Tower

BofA tower gets top green-building rating

950-foot tower earns first LEED-Platinum honor; tower designed to use two-thirds less power, save 7.7M gallons of water and please more tenants.

Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park is First Commerical Skyscraper in U.S. to Acheive LEED Platinum

The Durst Organization and Bank of America Recognized for Exemplary Environmental Design and Construction by the U.S. Green Building Council