A new Tijuana office building has earned an environmental stamp of approval. Its builders hope the LEED gold certified building sets an environmental trend in the border city.
The 83-thousand square foot building is about five minutes from the San Ysidro border crossing.
It's clad with metal to deflect the sun's heat but allow natural light in.
Its exotic hardwood paneling is made of lumber from a sustainable forest in Brazil.
Basins on the roof collect rainwater that's reused.
There's also a rooftop running track.
Cesar Leal is a member of the construction and investment teams. He says they want to raise building standards in Tijuana.
"We said, if we don't start, someone else will. But probably in who knows in how many years. So, if we can do it right now, we're hoping to start a trend so we get better construction in Tijuana," says Leal.
Leal says about 50 per cent of the building's offices are rented.
The $22 million project is one of just three buildings in Mexico that's earned LEED's gold status and the only one outside Mexico City.
