Primus Builders, Inc., Woodstock, Ga., announce its United States Cold Storage project in Covington, Tenn., achieved LEED Gold status.

“This is a big moment for us,” says Matthew Hirsch, president of Primus. “For our first LEED project to achieve gold certification is an incredible honor.”

The achievement came after working closely with the International Association for Cold Storage Construction (IACSC), Alexandria, Va., and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Washington, D.C., to create a scoring system that reflected the unique engineering components of cold storage facilities. The baseline now includes specific parameters for refrigeration and indoor air quality that allow cold storage facilities to earn points in the Energy & Atmosphere category.

“Working with USGBC to update their scoring system was very gratifying,” adds Hirsch. “They are highly respected in the industry and very serious about their mission. It has opened the door for future projects to achieve LEED certification. We currently have two projects registered and expect them to achieve a minimum of LEED Silver.”

The original goal on the Covington facility was LEED Silver. But, thanks to the diligent efforts of Primus, United States Cold Storage, Voorhees, N.J., and Unilever (Unilever USA, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., operates the ice cream plant the cold storage facility is attached to), the team achieved LEED Gold.

“It is always Primus’ goal to exceed expectations,” says Hirsch. “It was exciting to do so for United States Cold Storage and Unilever in a such a meaningful way.”