The Empire State Building, icon of the New York skyline, is undergoing a $20 million green building retrofit. The budget for the retrofit is approximately 50% of the original $41 million development cost to build the property in 1931. The property, which is owned and operated by Wien & Malkin/W&H Properties, is hoping to earn the EPA's "Energy Star" for the building with a rating of 90 or greater. W&H also intends to pursue the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ("LEED") Certification rating for the property with a rating of “gold”.

In addition to these accolades, the Empire State Building, at 1,250 feet, may also be the tallest green building in the United States. It exceeds the height of the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park by fifty feet. Indeed, the Empire State Building towers over the Comcast Center in Philadelphia, once heralded as the tallest green building in the U.S.

The objectives of W&H convey the conceptual simplicity with which energy use can be cut by making straight-forward changes to a building's operation and structure. Ownership hopes to cut energy use by as much as 40%, saving as much as $4.4 million per year in energy costs, according to the New York Times. Should this level of savings be achieved, a simple payback on the energy retrofit would be approximately five years, after which the savings should flow directly to the bottom line for W&H.

Johnson Controls, a large service provider and manufacturer of energy monitoring equipment is overseeing the retrofit, which includes replacing all 6,500 windows at the building with high SRI film-protected, triple glazed models which will reduce the current HVAC demand requirements during the summer and winter. The building will also have its physical plant and chillers rebuilt and upgraded and significant improvements to insulation will be made.

The energy efficiency renovations are a small part of an approximate $550 million renovation that began at the building in 2006. The owners expect that the improvements to the property will result in an increase in rents, improved efficiencies for tenants and greater demand as the property is perceived as more competitive. For many years the Empire State Building's rental rates languished while other midtown rents soared. Indeed, the rents at the property are still a relative bargain compared with other Fifth Avenue properties.

The Empire State Building is so large that, at one point, it housed over 1,000 businesses and has its own zip code.