Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. announced today that its award-winning community of Summerlin®in Las Vegas has achieved LEED precertification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), becoming Nevada’s first master planned community to earn this distinction. Summerlin joins an elite global group of entities—including the Howard Hughes communities of The Woodlands®, Bridgeland®, Downtown Columbia®, and Ward Village®—that are recognized by USGBC for their dedication to making their communities healthy, resilient, inclusive, and inherently sustainable for residents. With this addition, the company now boasts one of the largest LEED precertified or certified community portfolios in the U.S., covering more than 62,000 acres.
“Our achievement of LEED precertification for Summerlin—a thriving, award-winning community home to over 127,000 residents—demonstrates our dedication to sustainable development and conservation,” said David O’Reilly, Chief Executive Officer of Howard Hughes. “Nationally recognized as a leader in water conservation, Summerlin has added over 7,300 new homes, 500,000 square feet of office space, and a 10,000-capacity Triple A ballpark since 2018, yet water consumption has remained unchanged during this time—while Summerlin continues to provide an outstanding quality of life that makes it one of the best-selling communities in the country.”
Summerlin has a decades-long history of implementing environmental strategies which have resulted in its LEED recognition. Summerlin voluntarily became the first community in the Las Vegas Valley to implement strict Water Smart conservation guidelines. As of March 2024, Summerlin has removed 638,100 square feet of decorative grass, saving approximately 35 million gallons of water annually.
According to Servidyne, a national energy and sustainability consulting firm that worked with Summerlin through the precertification process, the community boasts an impressive carbon footprint of only 3.3 tones per person per year, which is 78% less than the national average. One contributing factor is the average work commute for Summerlin residents is less than 10 minutes. Summerlin residents also produced 62% less waste as compared to the national average based on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) figures from 2018.
“By achieving LEED for Communities precertification, Howard Hughes has laid the foundation for achieving its ambitious sustainability goals for Summerlin,” said Peter Templeton, CEO of USGBC. “LEED helps large-scale communities like Summerlin embrace best practices and innovations that protect the natural environment, community health and our climate while improving quality of life for all. We applaud Howard Hughes’ commitment to LEED across their national portfolio.”
This precertification announcement highlights Summerlin’s commitment to responsible development demonstrated through prior certifications of office and multifamily assets over the past decade. While Summerlin is designated as a LEED for Communities project, other buildings and projects have secured alternative LEED certifications. Downtown Summerlin’s retail area, Tanager Echo apartments, as well as its office buildings One Summerlin, Two Summerlin, and 1700 Pavilion have all achieved LEED Silver. Summerlin’s newest office building Meridian is constructed to LEED Silver standards and pending certification.
Now in its 34th year of development, Summerlin offers more amenities than any other Southern Nevada community. These include 300-plus parks of all sizes; 200-plus miles of interconnected trails; resident-exclusive community centers; ten golf courses; 26 public, private and charter schools; a public library and performing arts center; Summerlin Hospital Medical Center; houses of worship representing a dozen different faiths; office parks; neighborhood shopping centers; and, of course, Downtown Summerlin®, offering fashion, dining, entertainment, Red Rock Resort, Class-A office buildings, City National Arena, home of the Vegas Golden Knights National Hockey League practice facility, and Las Vegas Ballpark®, a world-class Triple-A baseball stadium and home of the Las Vegas Aviators®.
In total, Summerlin currently offers nearly 100 floorplans in approximately 20 neighborhoods throughout eight distinct villages and districts. Homes, built by many of the nation’s top homebuilders, are available in a variety of styles – from single-family homes to townhomes, priced from the mid-$400,000s to more than $1 million. For information on all actively selling neighborhoods, visit Summerlin.com. Before you visit, call the builders to check on hours of operation. Phone numbers for each neighborhood are on Summerlin.com.