Joined by city dignitaries, partner organizations and employees, officials at Testa Produce on Feb. 22 put the crowning touch on the company’s new sustainable distribution center – a special plaque presented by the U.S. Green Building Council recognizing Testa’s recent LEED platinum certification. Testa Produce is the first food distribution company in the nation to gain LEED platinum certification, the highest level available.
“We’ve received a lot of awards during our more than 100 years in business, but this LEED Platinum plaque and the certification behind it are among our proudest accomplishments,” said Peter Testa, president of Testa Produce. “Along with our partners in constructing this unique facility, we’ve raised the bar and we hope others will follow our lead toward more sustainable, environmentally friendly ways of doing business. This plaque is a testament to the commitment on the part of everyone involved in this project to get it right, to cut no corners and to insist on innovation every step of the way. We hang it very proudly.”
In addition to Peter Testa, the plaque unveiling ceremony featured Doug Widener, executive director of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Illinois Chapter, Andrew Mooney, commissioner of housing and economic Development, and Wendy Berger Shapiro of WBS Equities, Testa’s project consultant. Additional Chicago city officials in attendance included Chief Sustainability Officer Karen Weigert and Alderman James Balcer. Representatives from Summit Design + Build, the construction management firm for the Testa Produce project, architectural partner Epstein, and Robert Ebl, the landscape contractor that designed the facility’s barrel-shaped, partially vegetated roof, attended as well.
Located at 4555 S. Racine Ave. in the Chicago Stockyards Industrial Park, the new Testa Produce distribution center opened in May of 2011.
