Indeed Tower, Austin’s Tallest Office Building, Earns LEED Platinum Certification

Indeed Tower, the recently completed Class AA office tower in Downtown Austin, Texas, has been awarded LEED v4 Core & Shell (CS) Platinum Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. The property earned 82 points and is the second largest LEED v4 CS project in the United States and the fifth largest LEED v4 CS project in the world. Indeed Tower was developed by Trammell Crow Company and Principal Real Estate Investors, with Page serving as the architect, interior designer and sustainability consultant and DPR Construction serving as general contractor. Kilroy purchased the property in July 2021.

Rising 36 stories, Indeed Tower is Austin's tallest office building. Spanning ±730,000 square feet, the tower includes:

• Five levels of below-grade parking.
• 12 levels of above-grade parking.
• 21 floors of office space.

The project also comprises ±35,000 square feet of adaptive-reused historic Claudia Taylor Johnson post office building and 17,000 square feet of outdoor urban greenspace.

Additional project partners included Stantec & LandDev Consulting (civil engineer), Campbell Landscape Architecture, Ten Eyck Landscape Architects, Blum Consulting Engineers (MEP engineer), and Thornton Tomasetti (structural engineer).

“Trammell Crow Company set out more than three years ago to develop an office tower that was designed for the future. Indeed Tower was designed to meet and exceed even the highest standards of sustainability and accommodate the needs of current and future office tenants that demand a modern and evolved workplace,” said Brad Maples, Principal of Trammell Crow Company’s Austin office.

The project, which was delivered in May 2021 and spanned four years from start to finish, far exceeded its original sustainability targets. The tower is shaped by sustainable performance and is sheared into two distinct tower forms. The eastern portion of the building features high-performance glazing and the western portion is clad in glass sunshades to reduce peak heat gain and glare. The office floors include deliberately proportioned floor plates to allow for efficiency in space planning, penetration of natural light and maximized views.

“From the beginning, this project team was aligned in our pursuit of exceptional and defined sustainability as an integral part of our shared success,” said Jill Kurtz, Page Director of Building Sciences. “Giving new life to a historic structure as part of the development, the onsite capture and reuse of water, focus on well-being, and contribution back to the community block are all part of what makes this project so memorable and raises the bar for responsible urban design.”

The project team was able to integrate open space covering 46% of the site through terraces, the large urban plaza, and 100% structured parking. Of that open space, 75% is native and 25% is drought-tolerant adapted vegetation, restoring and creating habitat and shaded spaces for visitors. The team extended the idea of preservation into the landscaping as well, saving a heritage red oak and coordinating the plaza around that element. Other sustainable highlights at Indeed Tower include 85% of rainwater management onsite and 100% outdoor water from non-potable sources. The project is designed to reduce annual energy costs by 14%, cut down peak energy use by 21.6%, and offset 100% of core shell power with offsite renewables. With the use of low flow plumbing fixtures and EnergyStar appliances, potable water within the building was reduced 30%, with 1.5 million gallons saved annually. In addition, 20% of embodied carbon was reduced through the reuse of existing structure and other material design optimizations.

“Indeed Tower demonstrates the successful blend of great design with ambitious sustainability goals," said John Kilroy, Chairman and CEO of Kilroy. "As North America's leader in sustainable real estate, the property embodies Kilroy's unwavering commitment to resilient and sustainable workplace environments."

With a focus on community connections, preservation, health, and best architectural practices for sustainability, the project achieved Austin Energy Green Building 4-Star. This stringent certification is a predecessor to the current iteration of LEED and cultivates innovation in building the enrichment of the community’s environmental, economic and human well-being. Likewise, Indeed Tower’s pending Fitwel 1 star certification recognizes the project for its strategies to advance public health and create a walkable community.

Indeed Tower is located at 200 West Sixth Street and spans a full city block bounded by West Sixth, West Seventh, Colorado and Lavaca streets. The building is in the heart of Austin’s downtown, providing easy access to an abundance of dining, shopping, and entertainment venues. Current office tenants at Indeed Tower include Austin-based job search company Indeed.com, the building’s anchor tenant; Brown Advisory, Inc.; Heritage Title Company of Austin, Inc. and Vinson Elkins, LLP.