Ahtme Maxima Became the First LEED Gold Certified Building Outside Harju County

The Ahtme Maxima store, part of Millerhawk's portfolio, has received the international LEED Gold certificate, making it Estonia's first high environmental sustainability recognized commercial real estate building outside Harju County.

"For the first time, such a high international sustainability recognition has reached Estonia's regional commercial real estate market. Only the platinum level separates LEED gold from the absolute top. When it comes to the buildings in our portfolio, we don't limit ourselves to construction ambition alone, but prioritize ensuring high value for the building in the long term. This means we also pay attention to older buildings and direct investments to them to remain attractive operating locations for our tenants," said Marko Kull, member of the Millerhawk management board.

The energy audit brought surprisingly quick results. During the certification process, a comprehensive energy audit was conducted in the building, which identified several specific opportunities to improve the building's energy efficiency. For some of the identified investments, the payback period turned out to be less than 12 months.

Maxima: sustainability is important for both customers and employees

Maxima, the store's tenant, sees the certificate as an important confirmation of responsible business principles. "For us, it is important that the store operates in an environment that is energy efficient, well-managed, and convenient for both customers and employees. The LEED Gold certificate confirms that the building is managed thoughtfully and sustainability principles are applied in daily operations. Of course, we are pleased that we can operate in such an environment and that it has also been recognized internationally," said Diana Gegelyte, Maxima's CEO.

Sustainability is not limited to new developments and the capital

For Millerhawk, the recognition is an important signal to the entire sector. "Sustainability must be part of the entire real estate portfolio, not just a privilege of new developments. Well-managed commercial real estate helps reduce operating and management costs, improve the indoor environment, and increase the long-term value of the property. The high recognition given to Ahtme Maxima is a step that gives hope that a culture of sustainable real estate management will reach Estonia's regional market more broadly," noted Marko Kull.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is one of the world's most well-known green building certification systems. Unlike the assessment of new developments, LEED O+M focuses on the actual performance of an existing building during use. Energy and water consumption, waste management, indoor environment quality, and daily management practices are evaluated.

The Ahtme Maxima building received the LEED v4 level Operations and Maintenance: Retail certificate at Gold level. The certification application was coordinated by Greenmetrix OÜ, which belongs to Millerhawk and specializes in advising the real estate sector on green certification and energy efficiency topics to increase real estate sustainability and market value.

Millerhawk OÜ (www.millerhawk.com) is a leading business entity in real estate development and management, developing and managing commercial real estate. Millerhawk also owns Avalon, a residential real estate developer, which has several developments in Tallinn and in Harju County in Rae, Saue and Harku parishes, as well as in Viljandi and Maardu.