Developed in conjunction with several other partners, including the University of New Mexico, with the support of the city of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County and the state of New Mexico, Mesa del Sol is a 13,000 acre, mixed-used district, south of the Albuquerque International Sunport, which contains several larger commercial projects, including Albuquerque Studios, Advent Solar and Fidelity.
Fidelity Investment’s two-story, 217,892 square feet office building, was originally planned for LEED-Silver certification, but will now seek a LEED-Gold from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The facility has high-efficiency fixtures resulting in a 30% savings in water and a chilled water system with cooling towers for air conditioning.
The building features recessed windows that provide shade from direct summer sun and have insulated glazing to keep out heat and cold. The appliances are Energy Star-rated; outdoor lighting is shielded and light beams face downward to preserve New Mexico’s night sky.
The parking lot is composed of pervious concrete, which allows rainwater to seep into the ground and recharge groundwater and also reduces runoff. The materials used for construction has been selected for their post-industrial and post-consumer recycled content, and 94% of all the waste material from the shell construction was recycled.
The first phase was completed in December 2008, while the second phase of the building was completed in March 2009.
The award will be presented to the officials of Mesa del Sol during NAIOP’s annual commercial real estate meeting in Chicago in October 2009. Forest City Covington and ProLogis, two developers of Mesa del Sol will receive the award. Created in 2005, the award recognizes the growing number of firms engaged in green development.
