USGBC REGIONAL CHAPTER NAMES MEMBER OF THE YEAR

publication date: Sep 8, 2008

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Green Building Council of the National Capital Region, has awarded The Tower Companies (http://www.towercompanies.com), the largest green builder in the nation's capital, with the prestigious Annual Awards of Excellence NCR Member of the Year Award for demonstrated excellence in contribution and leadership in the green building community.

The USGBC annual event held recently at the World Bank recognizes members in several categories, such as project of the year, member firm of the year and member of the year. The signature event was attended by over 350 members of the design and construction industries as well as others interested in learning more about sustainability.

Accepting the award on behalf of the company, The Tower Companies principal Marnie Abramson stated, "Since 1947 The Tower Companies has been committed to contributing to the well-being of society and for the past 12 years we have demonstrated our commitment through green buildings; we are honored that USGBC has recognized our achievements because it is our vision to preserve and protect the environment through real estate."

The Tower Companies award-winning properties are the first green buildings in the Washington, DC area: The Tower Building (http://www.towerbuilding.com), The Millennium Building (http://www.millenniumbuilding.com), and Blair Towns (http://www.blairtowns.com), nationally recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council as America's first LEED-certified multi-family rental housing community in the United States.

Founded in 1947, The Tower Companies is a closely held family-owned real estate business and one of ten carbon neutral companies in the United States. They have developed more than 4.5 million square feet of office space and office parks, 1,400 apartments, regional malls, residential communities, lifestyle centers, hotels, and industrial/flex space within
the Washington Metro region, of which 1.25 million square feet are Green or LEED Certified projects, and another 2.5 million square feet are in the planning stages.