As the U.S. real estate market struggled to recover from the impacts of its most recent recession, SDC leveraged renewed interest in existing building performance to deliver two Platinum-level LEED for Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance (O+M) project certifications. First came the Blair Towns in Silver Spring, Maryland, developed by the Tower Companies. SDC had originally helped establish as the first LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations (NC) certified apartment community anywhere. The renovation of this 78-unit structure focus on enhanced sustainability measures, both in its upgrades and in its operational programs within the context of greening the overall Blair Park campus, for which SDC also delivered LEED O+M Gold-level certification. Meanwhile, SDC led the advanced sustainable certification process for Two Potomac Yard in Arlington, Virginia, the 325,000 sf multi-tenant office building housing several national offices of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. SDC had also previously led the LEED-NC Gold-level certification processes for both One and Two Potomac Yard, as well as the LEED Gold-level O+M certification for One Potomac Yard. Both signature projects illustrate SDC’s capabilities in long-term, complex, multi-faceted project life-cycles – from planning, design, and construction all the way through post-occupancy and ongoing operations!