Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)’s Consolidated Rent-A-Car (ConRAC) facility has been recognized with an Energy and Operational Carbon Design Merit award from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Los Angeles chapter (USGBC-LA). The achievement follows recent news of the project receiving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold v4 certification from USGBC’s national assembly. The newest honor adds to a list of design, sustainability and finance distinctions that the ConRAC facility has begun collecting in anticipation of its opening in 2024.
“The U.S. Green Building Council is a global leader in sustainable building design, consistently setting the bar for best practices. To have Council’s national and local chapters recognize LAX’s ConRAC facility with distinctions is incredibly significant and demonstrates that our mission to promote environmental, social and economic sustainability across LAWA is having real positive impact,” said Bea Hsu, Interim Chief Executive Officer, LAWA. “I am grateful to LAWA’s staff and our project partners, as well as the rental car tenants who will soon call the ConRAC facility home, for their role in helping to realize this thoughtfully designed and resilient project.”
LAX’s ConRAC facility is an integral part of the airport’s historic multi-billion-dollar Landside Access Modernization Program. By relocating rental car companies into one convenient location adjacent to the 405 freeway – as well as providing a direct connection to LAX’s Automated People Mover (APM) train system – the ConRAC will eliminate the approximately 3,200 daily shuttle trips, alleviating traffic congestion on local streets and around the airport’s Central Terminal Area. The facility also features a Quick Turn Around (QTA) building, which allows for the light maintenance of vehicles like car washing, oil changes and tire rotation. The QTA building further helps to alleviate traffic congestion by keeping car care within the complex.
Through a 4.8-megawatt photovoltaic solar panel array that is integrated into the ConRAC’s façades, roofs and parking canopies 8,400 megawatt hours of electricity are produced annually. This power is sent directly to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) via the department’s Feed in Tariff (FiT) program. Additionally, the ConRAC facility achieves an impressive 36% energy use reduction and an operational carbon reduction of 1,220,000 pounds per year solely due to efficiency, with additional carbon savings gained through sustainable electrification measures, reduction of heat island effect and alternative transportation options. The ConRAC facility’s native and drought-tolerant landscape and reclaimed water usage system also contribute to the project’s environmentally-minded design.
Additional energy efficiency and carbon footprint reductions are achieved through:
- The building’s envelope design that reduces cooling loads;
- An HVAC system that minimizes wasted energy;
- High-efficiency lighting and a unique control system that was invented specifically for the ConRAC that eliminates miles of wire, plastic and other materials;
- And a cleaner grid in the site area that allows for an all-electric project, significantly reducing operational carbon.
To realize its vision for the project, LAWA coordinated efforts with LAX ConRAC Partners (LAXCP), the project’s design, build, finance, operate and maintain (DBFOM) consortium. Working together they have positively impacted the local community by operating sustainably and balancing economic, social and environmental responsibilities. To date, the project has created more than 5,000 jobs and $200 million in wages for the local workforce.
“Close collaboration between Los Angeles World Airports and the LAX ConRAC Partners team enabled the public-private partnership to not only deliver the largest ConRAC facility in the world but to exceed our sustainability targets and positively impact the community, economy and environment,” said Karl Schaefer, LAX ConRAC Project Executive, Fengate.
Utility and roadway improvements surrounding the complex and tenant interior fit-outs are currently underway at the facility, with project completion planned for 2024. Interested parties can learn more about LAX’s campus-wide transformation and subscribe for project updates at bit.ly/LAX-Transformation.
