There? been quite a bit of activity around LEED-certified buildings in the past couple of weeks. A sign of more green building and rehabbing to come in the Valley? First is a large-scale building project in Burbank. For some reason city officials and businesses in that city really seem to be forward-thinking when it comes to environmental sustainability. The 2300 Empire Center Office building, located at 2300 Empire Ave., received LEED Silver Pre-Certification in July 2008. It? currently under final review for the Core and Shell LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Once the latter is achieved the building will be the first to obtain such certification in the city of Burbank. Higgins Development Partners of Chicago developed the Empire Center project, Ware Malcomb provided architecture and interior design services, and McCormick Construction Company was the general contractor. The project consists of a speculative seven-story, steel-framed, 363,000 square foot office building, an adjacent 1,260 stall parking structure, and additional surface parking on the 6.5 acre site. Kennedy Real Estate Associates is pursuing LEED certification for a caf?development at the Corporate Pointe at West Hills complex. The $5.9 million renovation of an 11,121 square foot on-site cafeteria will include LEED attributes such as: alternative transportation, storm water management quality control, light pollution reduction, water use reduction, energy efficiency, using regional materials and certified wood, and increasing ventilation. Wolcott Architecture is architect on the project, DPR Construction, Inc. is the contractor, and Trammell Crow Company is the development manager. While it? not located in the San Fernando Valley, the 23-story Watt Plaza office tower in Century City recently received Gold LEED Certification in the ?xisting Buildings Operations and Maintenance?category. The 900,000 square feet building, located in the heart of Century City, is the first in Los Angeles to achieve this designation. The Watt Plaza certification was based on a number of green measures the project took to reduce global climate change, including: water conservation, waste recovery, alternative transportation options, energy efficiency measures and indoor air quality management. The development has a waste program that diverts 70 percent of all building waste to a materials recovery facility, plus e-waste, battery, bulb and ballast recycling programs. Renovation Rally The newly converted Lavery Business Park, an industrial condominium business development in Newbury Park, is 70 percent pre-sold. The 40,000 square feet project, located at 2631, 2635 and 2639 Lavery Court, targets small businesses ranging from electrical and paint contractors to vehicle storage. Tony Principe, president of Westlake Village-based Westcord Commercial Real Estate Services, and Jim Darin of Westcord are the exclusive marketing agents for project owners, Lavery Court LLC. Units range from 846 square feet to 7,700 contiguous square feet. Principe says owners acquired the property in 2007 and embarked on a two-year renovation, which included introducing voluntary seismic upgrades, new roofs, mechanical systems, new parking, landscaping, newly finished warehouse floors, roll-up doors and high-end security systems. In another renovation project, Westlake Medical Center completed a $1 million upgrade of its property located at 32144 Agoura Road in Westlake Village. To date, 80 percent of the complex is pre-leased. The two-story steel frame building features an enhanced Craftsman motif and has a total of 30,000 square feet of medical and dental office space. Principe, Darin Arrasmith and Aaron Guerrero of Westcord Commercial Real Estate Services are the exclusive marketing agents for owners, Westlake Medical Center LLC. Suites range from 767 square feet to 1860 square feet. The renovation includes landscaping, parking areas, roof upgrades, mechanical and electrical systems, common areas, restrooms, corridors, elevators, lighting and exterior paint. Many of the leases are renewals, but Westlake Care Pharmacy signed a lease for 1,500 square feet of space on the ground floor. Upsizing Happens Colliers International closed a $1.5 million lease transaction for a piece of property located at 15814 Strathern Street in Van Nuys. Mates Inc., a music instrument storage company, is lessee on the 53,509 square feet industrial building. The company plans to use it as a warehouse for musical instruments. John DeGrinis, Patrick DuRoss and Jeff Abraham of Colliers represented the landlord, Beverly Hills-based ARKA Properties Group and Black Equities Group. Billy Walk of CB Richard Ellis represented Mates. The building, situated on 104,979 square feet of land was built in 1957 and renovated in 1980. DeGrinis says Mates originally leased 21,400 square feet of the 15814 Strathern Street building on a short-term lease. Once the company took occupancy, it found that the property fit its business needs and decided leasing more space would allow it to operate more efficiently and grow the business. Staff Reporter Eric Billingsley can be reached at (818) 316-3124 or at [email protected] .