| IN THE
February
2, 2009 ISSUE |
Stimulus Bill’s Sustainability Elements Disappoint Commercial
Landlords
A version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
that passed a vote in the House last week will boost energy efficiency
in the residential and public sectors but falls short of expectations
for commercial real estate owners, experts say.
“While we understand the nature of the stimulus package and how
they’re trying to incentivize immediate growth in the economy, we are
disappointed they chose not to incentivize building energy retrofits to
the extent that we would like to have seen,” says Karen Penafiel, vice
president of advocacy at the Building Owners and Managers Association
International (BOMA).
Regency Centers Makes A Splash with Outdoor Water Conservation
Efforts
Regency Centers has launched an irrigation pilot program
that will save water and money.
The owner, operator and developer of grocery-anchored and community
shopping centers expects to save 42 million gallons of water per year
over the 36 pilot properties, or a total of $125,000. The payback period
is less than two years. “It will also minimize sewer overcharges,
landscape replacement and maintenance costs that can result from
over-watering,” says Mark Peternell, vice president of sustainability
for Regency Centers. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla.
All 36 properties have been retrofitted with “smart” irrigation
controllers. “[The smart controllers] replace your conventional
controllers, which are typically just time clocks — you want the
irrigation on for an hour every day in the morning and an hour every day
in the afternoon,” explains Peternell.
Employee Program Offers Sweet Green
Benefits
Could corn mugs and transportation incentives make an
architectural firm a better place to work? Dustin Watson, principal of
Development Design Group (DDG) based in Baltimore, Md., thinks so.
That’s why the architect launched DDGgreen in 2007.
Today, out of a firm of 110 people, 20 are active members of DDG’s
green team. These environmentally minded employees have made significant
changes in their workplace — from transportation incentives to the use
of recycled paper in the company’s large, in-house printing
operations. NREI recently spoke to Watson about the
program.
Major Changes Ahead for LEED APs
Implementation of a number of significant changes is
underway that affect LEED Accredited Professionals, or LEED APs, the
designated keepers of the flame of the U.S. Green Building Council’s
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating Systems for
green buildings.
Developers who are well versed in securing building certification under
one of the LEED systems agree that a thorough knowledge of LEED
procedures, credits, submission requirements and strategies is critical
to success. A primary means of transmitting knowledge of LEED is the
LEED AP program developed by the Green Building Council and currently
administered by its related organization, the Green Building
Certification Institute (GBCI).
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