Vestar delivers first LEED-certified retail development project in Ariz.

Oro Valley, Ariz. Vestar Development Co. announced its Oro Valley Marketplace project has earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification, marking the first retail project in the state to earn the designation, and one of the first in the Southwest.

The certification is part of Vestar’s GreenStar initiative, the Southwest’s first large-scale commitment to sustainable shopping center building techniques, according to Vestar. Its goal is to achieve certification for the company’s new development projects.

In addition to the LEED certification, Oro Valley Marketplace is the largest environmental restoration project in Oro Valley history. It opened in October 2008.