The Downtown Community Alliance (DCA) last week officially unveiled EcoCore, a new program designed to give environmentally conscientious owners of office properties a competitive edge in the marketplace.

Glenn Lyons, the DCA’s president and CEO, said downtown Des Moines, with its high densities of commercial and residential real estate development, broad mix of uses and quality public-transit services, is already a sustainable place in which to locate a business.

Now the city of Des Moines, which worked closely with the DCA to develop EcoCore, has committed $250,000 to pay environmental consultants to conduct sustainability audits on several downtown office buildings.

“This is a great first step to take advantage of our inherent sustainability,” Leach said, noting that his organization is looking for up to five downtown buildings to take part in the Project 101: Office Building Sustainability Grants program.

Building owners who are willing to reinvest in their properties or repurpose their buildings for another use, such as lodging or housing, will be considered the most viable candidates for the grant money, Leach said.

The recent relocations of Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa and Aviva USA to owner-occupied campuses pushed the downtown competitive office vacancy rate to about 30 percent, or about 1.5 million square feet of space.

Citing the U.S. Green Building Council, the DCA said owners of “green” office buildings can expect to see a 3.5 percent increase in occupancy rates, a 3 percent average increase in rents and 7.5 percent average increase in property values.

“We intend to improve our relative competitiveness in this critical market dimension by seeking new investment in our downtown area in public transit, housing and riverfront improvements, and by seeking reinvestment in downtown’s existing stock of office buildings,” Leach said.

Applications for the grant program are due by 4 p.m. on Nov. 29. For more information, click here or e-mail tleach@downtowndesmoines.com.

During the next stages of EcoCore, the DCA plans to explore the possibility of pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development certification for Western Gateway Park.