Old Pasadena’s Historic Chamber of Commerce Building Earns LEED Gold for Going Green

Owners of the Chamber of Commerce Building at 117 E. Colorado Blvd. announced the structure has been awarded LEED® Gold Certification established by the U.S. Green Building Council and approved by the Green Building Certification Institute.

The certification recognizes the historic building uses current best practices to consume less energy, water and natural resources, to improve the indoor environment, and to continue to uncover and reduce operating inefficiencies.

“We are extremely proud of earning Gold Certification,” noted Pete Kutzer, Managing Partner of Edgewood Realty Partners. “It is one of only a few LEED® Gold buildings in the area, and the only privately-owned, Class A historic landmark office building. Environmental sustainability is [a] core value of our partners and tenants, and our management and engineering team worked diligently to move us up from our Silver certification in 2015. Doing so in a building of such historic significance was not easy – especially during Covid-19 – but it was worth it.”

The Chamber of Commerce Building was designed by the acclaimed architects Parkinson & Bergstrom in 1904 and was the first steel-frame “high rise” built in Pasadena.

It has been meticulously restored, and improved with modern, creative office spaces, and was the recipient of the 2013 – 2014 Outstanding Building of the Year (TOBY) Award from the Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Los Angeles (BOMA), and was the US Pacific Southwest Regional winner in April 2014 in the Historical Building category for demonstrating excellence in building preservation, community impact, tenant relations, environmental and sustainability initiatives, continuing education of management staff and overall management policies and procedures.

The LEED Green Building Rating System (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) was developed by the USGBC and is the internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings.

The Chamber of Commerce Building is managed by The Kutzer Company.