The nation saw more than 3,400 properties win LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council over the past year, a surge in energy-efficient construction affecting some 1,324 cities throughout the country.

In a nationwide ranking by American City Business Journals, Albuquerque ranked No. 25 for green building, tying with Cambridge, Massachusetts. Albuquerque had 737,771 square feet with LEED certification. In the past year, the city had 16 total LEED-certified projects, including 11 that were certified gold and two that were certified silver. View the accompanying gallery to see the rest of the rankings. Rankings were tallied similiar to Olympic medal counts.

The flurry of national activity pushed LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) designations to a record 28,582 properties as of March 14, with about 12 percent of those certifications — 3,442 properties in all — occurring since January 2016. The LEED-certification program has been among the key barometers used to measure energy-efficient building practices globally since 2004.

Most of the certifications between January 2016 and mid-March were concentrated along both U.S. coasts. Washington, D.C., and New York topped all U.S. cities with 117 certifications and 108 certifications, respectively, while San Francisco (72) and Los Angeles (59) also ranked among the top five. Chicago, the only non-coastal city near the top of the stack, ranked third nationally with 75 certifications over that same span.

Last week, Albuquerque Business First reported on the $24 million Central New Mexico Community College Smith Brasher Hall building construction project, which will have a LEED silver certification. Click here for the slideshow and to read the full report.