Beyond Green – SSOE, Architectural and Engineering Firm, Helps Military Retailer Go for Silver

Military Retailer in San Antonio, Texas is One of First to Seek Prestigious LEED Silver Certification

APRIL 07, 2009, TOLEDO, OHIO -When it comes to creating a good shopping environment, the military base exchanges of the 21st century are in step with the latest retail trends and even leading the way in environmentally friendly design. One example is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) initiative from the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), the Department of Defense's oldest retailer.

AAFES, the U.S. Department of Defense's oldest retailer and SSOE Inc., a U.S.-based global architecture and engineering firm, is spearheading the design and LEED Silver certification for the Randolph Air Force Base Exchange (BX), located in San Antonio Texas, serving more than 50,000 active, reserves, dependents, and retired military personnel.

SSOE's Leslie Accardo, LEED AP says, "This project will be part of a retail pilot program for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to help fine tune new LEED guidelines that will be geared specifically toward the retail industry." The Randolph BX is one of the first in the AAFES system to follow the LEED guidelines necessary for Silver certification. SSOE is familiar with being first. The company designed the first Gold LEED certified building in Ohio, and nationally the first Gold LEED certified central utility plant in the U.S. Overall, SSOE has 50 LEED accredited professionals, from architects and engineers to interior designers.

Ann Scott, Corporate Energy Program Manager for AAFES, says, "The initiative is the result of a 2007 Air Force policy that all new construction on Air Force installations be built to a LEED Silver certifiable standard, and that LEED will be the rating metric used for all construction." According to Scott, the current program aims to apply the LEED Silver standard to all new retail shopping center construction and will help AAFES adhere to this standard. AAFES currently operates 141 shopping centers worldwide and more than 3,000 individual facilities—including Post Exchanges and Base Exchanges at US Army and Air Force bases in more than 30 countries (including Iraq), 49 US states, and 5 U.S. territories. Ground was broken for the project in January 2009. Expected completion date for the 153,000 square foot shopping center is spring, 2010. The Randolph BX will include a Starbucks, military clothing store, food court, interior mall and loading dock.

About SSOE:

SSOE, Inc. is an international design firm ranked 8th among the nation's largest engineering and architecture firms (Building Design + Construction, 2008). Demonstrating fast and consistent growth since 2004, SSOE has doubled in size and revenue. SSOE has also been named one of the "Best AEC Firms to Work For" (Building Design + Construction) and as one of the fastest-growing U.S. architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firms by ZweigWhite Hot List 2008.

With 19 offices around the world, SSOE has earned a solid reputation in facility design for the retail, government, healthcare, automotive and science and technology markets as well as process engineering for the alternative energy, biofuels, chemical, food and beverage, glass and personal care industries. SSOE has completed projects in 48 states and 32 countries, and has achieved more than 60 years of excellence in engineering and architectural design.

Visithttp://www.ssoe.comfor additional information and career opportunities.

About AAFES:

The Army & Air Force Exchange Service is a joint command and is directed by a Board of Directors which is responsible to the Secretaries of the Army and the Air Force through the Service Chiefs of Staff. AAFES has the dual mission of providing authorized patrons with articles of merchandise and services and generating non-appropriated fund earnings as a supplemental source of funding for military Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs. To find out more about AAFES' history and mission or to view recent press releases please visit our Web site athttp://www.aafes.com/pa/default.asp.

About LEED®:

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a third party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2000 through a consensus based process, LEED serves as a tool for buildings of all types and sizes. LEED certification offers third party validation of a project's green features and verifies that the building is operating exactly the way it was designed to. LEED certification is available in four progressive levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.. Visithttp://www.usgbc.orgfor additional information.

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Media Contact:
Linda Packo
SSOE Public Relations Specialist
Office: 419.255.3830 X1887
Cell: 419.327.0519
www.ssoe.com