Eagle Quest Properties

These days, it seems like skyscrapers are in a race to be the greenest, as well as the tallest. New York City’s Hearst Tower is largely made from recycled steel and uses rainwater for 50 percent of its needs. China’s 71 story Pearl River Tower (pictured below) will soon use wind, sun and geothermal energy to power itself, and even the Empire State Building, one of the world’s oldest skyscrapers, is currently undergoing an energy retrofit facelift to stay in the race.

To be the greenest skyscraper on the block, designers are incorporating cutting edge energy and water saving technologies like helical wind turbine technology, thousands of solar panels, sunlight-sensing LED lights, rainwater catchment systems and even seawater-powered air conditioning. One building awaiting construction is the Burj al Taqa “Energy Tower” (interior pictured below). With a 197-foot roof turbine and 161,459 square feet of solar panels, this 68 story skyscraper, if built, would create all its own power on site.

via Worldchanging: Bright Green: What Makes a Skyscraper Green?.

More than 500 Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) employees now hold LEED accreditation or its equivalent designation, allowing the real estate services firm to meet a goal it set in 2008 six months ahead of schedule.

JLL has steadily been positioning itself as a leader in the commercial green building segment since completing its first LEED certified project in 2003. It launched its Sustainability University in April 2008 to serve as an internal resource to help its global employees earn a variety of accreditations, such as LEED, BREEM, IEMA, NABERS Energy and Green Star.

“One of their first orders of business was to create classes, Power Points and other tools to help existing employees take the LEED exam,” Craig Bloomfield, JLL’s vice president of public affairs, said in a telephone interview.

via Jones Lang LaSalle Boasts 544 LEED APs | GreenerBuildings.

Tim Hortons is stepping up its push into Manhattan’s coffee wars by taking over a dozen Dunkin’ Donut outlets that were involved in a legal squabble because of unsanitary conditions — including a doughnut-eating mouse that made national headlines several years ago.

The Dunkin’ stores are set to close permanently today and be reopened as Tim Hortons as soon as Monday.

via Tim Hortons snaps up 12 Dunkin’ Donut stores.

The economy has been quite the thrill ride for Six Flags. The New York City-based amusement-park operator went belly-up in June, unable to spin off $2.4 billion in debt — even on the Tilt-A-Whirl.

But never fear: The chain’s 20 parks, which stretch from Montreal to Mexico City, will remain open. The Chapter 11 filing is “strictly a financial restructuring” of the company’s debt, said President and CEO Mark Shapiro in a statement.

via Brand name companies go bankrupt – Six Flags waves the white flag 3 – CNNMoney.com.