In early 2000, Ford Motor Company announced that it was constructing a 300,000 s.f. Class A facility and moving its Premier Auto Group (PAG) headquarters to Irvine, CA. The new facility, named One Premier Place, would include an 181,000 s.f. office tower, 90,000 s.f. product development wing, conference center, vehicle display area, fitness center and cafeteria. The facility would also be the first completed LEED NC project in the U.S. and includes:

• A natural gas fuel cell that provides 25 percent of the building’s power and hot water.
• Raised floor air distribution system that allows substantial savings on energy costs.
• A green roof on the Product Development wing with more than 30 categories of vegetation that helps save on energy costs due to added insulation.
• Green facade walls that provide shading benefit and help to screen adjacent vehicular traffic from interior office space. See the One Premier Place Green Facades project profile.
• 35 Electric Vehicle stations powered by building’s main source.
• Use of recycled and recyclable materials.

The Roofmeadow Type III cover system has a 5″ depth and weighs no more than 35 pounds per square foot when fully saturated. Irrigation is accomplished via a base-level system that utilizes recycled water.

The plant pallette was selected for the Southern California climate and is dominated by Sedum, Echeveria, Lampranthus, and Delosperma, with accents provided by Agave and Aloe, among others.

In 2010, after selling off the Aston Martin, Land Rover and Jaguar brands, the Ford Motor Company leased the 181,000 s.f. office tower to Yum Brands, Inc. of Louisville, KY and the space is now home to the corporate headquarters of Taco Bell.