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DMA Plays Lead Role in Equipping LEED Building with Solar Power

Los Angeles, CA, January 14, 2009

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One of the country's greenest retrofitted buildings can now generate up to 30 percent of its daily power from its parking garage - specifically, from 1,408 solar panels installed on the garage's top level. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and officials from Constellation Place, LLC, an affiliate of JMB Realty Corp., unveiled the new photovoltaic system on MGM Tower on January 14, 2009. On behalf of JMB Realty, Chicago-based Development Management Associates, LLC (DMA) managed the project from concept to completion, beginning with the selection of SPG Solar Inc., specialists in solar power installation. 

MGM Tower is a 35-story office building with more than 775,000 square feet of Class-A office space in Century City Los Angeles. The new photovoltaic system topping its parking garage is the third largest in Los Angeles to date. The completed system at MGM Tower will produce 570,095 kWh annually, cutting the building's purchase of electrical power by approximately 12 percent. Over it's service life, the system will prevent an estimated 277 metric tons of CO2 emissions, equivalent to planting 92 acres of trees. 

Mike Levin, DMA principal, worked with JMB Realty on the original development of MGM Tower in 2003. The building earned LEED® Silver certification in the existing building category from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2008, a distinction recognizing previous, substantial improvements in energy efficiency. 

DMA oversaw completion of this photovoltaic project within a tight timeframe to ensure owner eligibility for solar investment tax credits. As part of the economic stabilization package, the U.S. Congress recently extended commercial and residential solar investment tax credits for eight years — an opportunity for other building owners to explore the potential of solar power and save both energy and investment costs.