N.Y. Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials joined representatives from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) on Tuesday, June 21, to unveil a plaque honoring the Fulton Center as the first New York City subway hub to receive a LEED® rating for sustainability and design.  

Earlier this year, the MTA was awarded LEED® Silver certification by USGBC for the Fulton Center transit hub, located on Broadway between Fulton and Dey Streets, in Manhattan’s Financial District. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used third-party verification for green buildings.

“The MTA and its design firm Arup, in conceptualizing a design for the Fulton Center transit hub, sought to marry the old with the new to improve facility performance and rider experience,” said MTA Capital Construction (MTACC) President Michael Horodniceanu. “Through adaptive reuse of this historic structure, daylighting (maximizing natural light), and the enhancement of the indoor environment, we have achieved a powerful sustainable design that will be used as inspiration for future station enhancement.”

The MTA’s Fulton Center, situated in the heart of Lower Manhattan and a dynamic transportation hub streamlining connections between subway lines for up to 300,000 daily passengers was designed as a demonstration of an environmentally responsible 21st century rail transit center. It achieved LEED® certification for implementing practical and measurable strategies in sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. The facility achieves more than 25% in energy savings compared to a baseline building of similar type. Half of the energy used at the Fulton Center comes from renewable sources. Additionally, daylighting from the iconic oculus reduces electricity use, while low flow plumbing fixtures reduce water consumption by 40%.

The LEED® rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is the foremost program for buildings, homes and communities that are designed, constructed, maintained and operated for improved environmental and human health performance. Other MTA facilities achieving LEED® status include Mother Clara Hale Bus Depot in Harlem, the Corona Maintenance Shop in Queens and Metro-North Railroad’s office building at 525 North Broadway in North White Plains.

Contractors working on the Fulton Center project under the leadership of MTACC Project Executive Uday Durg included Citnalta Construction Corp., Gramercy Group Inc., Skanska USA Civil Northeast Inc., WDF Inc., Plaza/Schiavone JV and Judlau Contracting Inc. Consultants included Arup, Grimshaw, HDR, Page Ayers Cowley Architects, Parsons Brinckerhoff/LendLease JV and Jamie Carpenter Associates.