2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard Awarded First Multi-Tenant LEED® Platinum in Washington Metropolitan Area World’s Largest Fortune-Creating(sm)/Vedic Office Building

Rockville, MD, April 24, 2009 – 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard, co-developed by The Tower Companies (TowerCompanies.com) and Lerner Enterprises  has been officially certified LEED® Platinum Core and Shell 2.0- by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), making it the first multi-tenant commercial office property to achieve this designation in the Washington, Maryland and Virginia area. The LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operations of high performance green buildings.

The 200,000 square foot exquisite commercial office building was designed by Kishimoto.Gordon.Dalaya PC (KGD) (KGDArchitecture.com) and is the world’s largest application of Fortune-Creating(sm) (FortuneCreatingBuildings.com) architecture, built on the Vedic principals of orientation, placement and proportion, to improve the occupant’s health, enhance job performance and success. The building features 22,000 SF floorplates with 9’-3” ceilings and 6’-6” high continuous windows offering beautiful 360° panoramic views in all directions. The stunning daylight-filled lobby is finished with polished Tennessee Pink marble floors and Lacewood walls, accented with a luminous onyx freestanding sculpture wall and stainless steel planters. Tenant amenities include a state-of-the-art fitness room, including lockers, showers and yoga/Pilates room, luxurious bathrooms, and organic café. The underground 4-level parking structure, with dedicated parking for hybrid and low-emission vehicles, forms a pedestal, supporting green roofs around the building, with serenity fountains and plaza in front of the building. Over 17,000 drought resistant native plantings of trees, ornamental grasses and flowering bulbs compliment the buildings’ landscape in the park-like setting located within minutes of our Nation’s Capital and just off the I-270 Tech Corridor in Rockville, Maryland.

The building’s green efficiencies are “Designed to Earn ENERGY STAR” and reduce energy consumption by 28%, water consumption by 41%; the HVAC system is 39% more efficient than for typical offices; a four-stage air filtration system circulates 25% more outside air than required by code, turns over every 51 minutes, controls odors and removes over 90% of airborne contaminants before it reaches tenants. Furthermore, 90% of occupants have outside views, 74% have natural daylight, CO2 monitoring increases fresh air when necessary and there is “night sky” protection; no light pollution leaves the site; electromagnetic field (EMF) shielding. Eighty percent (80%) of all electric equipment is Energy Star-rated, 22% of the materials were manufactured within a 500-mile radius; 85% of the construction waste was recycled.

Over 900 people—including public officials, business/civic organizations, schools and media—have toured the building because it goes beyond green to increase workforce success and business growth. For more information, visit: TowerOaks.com.

ABOUT THE TOWER COMPANIES

The Tower Companies, founded by Albert Abramson in 1947, are the largest Green Builders in our Nation’s Capital, certified carbon neutral by the US Environmental Protection Agency, and they developed, Blair Towns, the first US Green Building Council LEED-certified apartment complex in the country. Their portfolio, which is 100% wind-powered, includes 4.5 million square feet of office buildings, office parks, 1,400 apartments, regional malls, residential communities, lifestyle centers, and hotels within the DC area. Of this total, one million square feet are Green or sustainable projects, and another 2.5 million square feet are in the planning stages; 1050 K Street is LEED Gold and The Millennium Building is LEED EB certified. The Tower Building is registered for LEED EB certification. The Tower Companies has 25% LEED accredited professionals on staff and is a member of EPA’s Climate Leaders and Energy Star programs. Recent awards include 2009 DC Mayor’s Environmental Excellence Award, 2009 Peerless Rockville Preservation Award, 2008 USGBC of the National Capital Area, Member Firm of the Year, 2008 Washington Business Journal Green Company of the Year, 2008 Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce Spirit of Free Enterprise Award, 2008 Washingtonian Magazine Corporate Green Award and DC Chamber of Commerce Corporation of the Year. For more information, visit TowerCompanies.com.

ABOUT LERNER ENTERPRISES

Lerner Enterprises of Rockville, Maryland, founded by Theodore N. Lerner in 1952, is Washington, DC’s largest private real estate developer and is involved in all phases of office, retail, hotel and residential real estate including planning, development, construction, leasing and property management. Lerner has developed, and currently manages more than 15 million square feet of office buildings, retail centers and residential communities. Lerner’s office portfolio has several well-known developments including: The Corporate Office Centre at Tysons II, McLean, VA; The Corporate Office Park at Dulles Town Center, Dulles, VA; 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard, Rockville, MD; White Flint North, North Bethesda, MD; Washington Square at 1050 Connecticut Avenue, NW and the First LEED Gold building for Core and Shell development in Washington, DC, 20 M Street, SE; Flint Hill Office Park, Fairfax, VA; 7799 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA; and 400 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA, among many others.