In recognition of its performance in the areas of air, water, hygiene, light and acoustics, FourFortyFour South Flower has achieved the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark for Indoor Environment. A little over a year ago, the 48-story iconic tower in downtown Los Angeles became the first building globally to earn the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark for Indoor Air and Water. The building is owned by Coretrust Capital Partners.
“We are pleased that our efforts to provide safer and healthier healthy workplaces have been recognized once again by this global safety science leader,” said Thomas S. Ricci, founder and Managing Principal of Coretrust. “We have implemented multiple state-of-the-art technologies for cleanest air and water quality, installed the latest building infrastructure for energy efficiency and carbon reduction, and adopted stringent operating controls, all to support the well-being and confidence of those who occupy and visit FourFortyFour.
“Companies are returning to the workplace and health and safety issues are paramount to staff confidence,” added Ricci. “Today we know of no other office landlord that has the combination of sophisticated environmental technologies and stringent operational controls that we have at FourFortyFour.”
The UL Verified Healthy Building program assesses the quality of a property’s overall indoor environment. It further verifies that a landlord has instituted policies and plans to maintain and advance indoor environment quality for the future. Its testing methods are aligned with industry-recognized, third-party organizations, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
“UL’s Verified Healthy Building program communicates those indoor spaces provide a healthy environment for occupants in five areas: indoor air quality, water quality, building hygiene, lighting and acoustics,” explained Sean McCrady, director, Asset and Sustainability, Real Estate and Properties at UL. “Once achieved, it’s a distinction that demonstrates building owners, managers and corporations are committed to a built environment that supports occupant health, well-being and comfort, backed by UL’s globally recognized expertise.
“By achieving the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark for Indoor Environment, Coretrust has demonstrated its commitment to providing a healthy workplace for current and prospective building tenants,” he continued. “This is one of many ways that UL can help building owners, property managers and corporations earn trust from tenants and employees.”
Air, Water, Hygiene, Light, Acoustics
Coretrust has installed technologies and operating procedures to achieve exceptional indoor air quality (IAQ) at FourFortyFour South Flower, as it has at its other properties. A powerful air-duct Ultraviolet C Germicidal Irradiation air purification system, Biowall MAX from Sanuvox, delivers maximum air quality, substantially reducing pathogens. Along with the addition of MERV-14 air filters, the HVAC system is virtually eliminated as a source of virus transmission. Coretrust pumps maximum levels of outside air ventilation into its buildings and has increased operating hours and numbers of fresh air purges. Further, equipment rooms are deep-cleaned, and air handling unit coils are disinfected on a regular basis.
Coretrust retrofitted elevators at FourFortyFour and added touchless destination dispatch systems, allowing tenants to use personalized access cards to call cars without touching buttons. Coretrust maintains continuous air purification in the cabs through bi-polar ionization generators that sit atop the elevator roof. It is the only landlord in the U.S. to navigate complex governmental approvals and elevator manufacturers’ concerns to install this innovative equipment.
Among the smart technologies at FourFortyFour are ADIBOT UV-C Robots placed in sensitive areas at night to disinfect air and surfaces against Covid-19 and other harmful airborne pathogens. The ADIBOT UV-C robots are the first to be deployed at any office building in the U.S.
To assure water quality, Coretrust has instituted rigorous flushing of water systems, replaced all water fixtures and aerators throughout the building, and regularly tests water quality to meet the highest drinking water standards.
A major Coretrust innovation at FourFortyFour South Flower is hacking the curtain wall of the sixth floor to create a 1,000-square-foot loggia terrace that brings fresh air and sunlight into the 22,500-square-foot Coretrust Workplace Innovation Lab. Similar indoor terraces are being created for tenants, according to Ricci.
Coretrust also expanded and added to the facility’s outdoor plazas and spaces, creating healthy venues for meetings, dining, and relaxing.
Noise has been abated by implementing Habitat Soundscapes, a new open office sound system directed by Plantronics algorithms that brings sounds of nature into office floors and senses and adjusts noise based on ambient volume.
