Based in Australia, the Westfield Group is an international retail property group undertaking ownership, development, design, construction, funds and asset management, property management, leasing and marketing of a global portfolio of shopping centers. The Westfield Trumbull shopping center, a 1.2 million square foot regional mall in Trumbull, CT, is one of 55 in the Group’s U.S. portfolio.
In November 2010, Westfield Trumbull completed a $35 million dollar revitalization that serves as a prototype of the Group’s green initiatives. Project elements included:
Replacing the Center’s traditional rooftop HVAC system with a higher efficiency central plant system that uses chilled water and fan coil units to cool stores and common areas
Numerous Smart Building features, including hand dryers in bathrooms and lounges, waterless urinals, insulated low e-glass in the Dining Terrace and even drought-tolerant plants throughout the center’s landscaping
Installation of approximately 800 new energy-efficient lamps
New “soft start” escalator motors that adjust the power according to foot traffic
Installation of a reflective white membrane on the roof, creating a “cool roof” that holds less heat and reduces the load on the air conditioning system
With these new elements, the Center is expected to reduce its annual energy consumption by 3 million kWh, and its carbon footprint by approximately 200 cubic tons - the annual equivalent of getting 412 cars off the road, or providing electricity for 261 homes.
The Westfield Group’s board and senior management have made sustainable business practice a priority, seeking to incorporate sustainability principles into Westfield’s culture and operations. The Trumbull Center is among the first of Westfield’s U.S. properties with an enterprise smart-building platform, utilizing a new energy and meter management system known as ecoWISE (Westfield Integrated Sustainability Enterprise). By providing real-time data on power consumption, the system will allow Center engineers to allocate energy resources accordingly. The Group is also a member of the Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance, a partnership of commercial real estate owners and operators that have volunteered to work with the U.S. Department of Energy to drastically reduce the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of commercial buildings.
The Westfield Group and The United Illuminating Company very effectively demonstrated the success of a productive working relationship by engaging in dialogue from the early stages of the Westfield Trumbull Shopping Center project, which are evident in the final product.
