NDR Group recently completed construction on Garito Manor at Union Square. The 102-unit, $30 million facility will accommodate seniors over the age of 62 with lower incomes. While funding for the project came from many sources, NYSERDA provided a $399,000 grant for the project’s green features, which include five geothermal wells, energy efficient lighting, windows, and insulation, and locally-sourced materials. Perkins Eastman Architects designed the project with construction management services from Andon Construction Company. Garito Manor is seeking an unspecified level of LEED certification; for monthly rents ranging from $2200-$2800 residents will enjoy two daily meals, 24-hour security and concierge, housekeeping, and transportation services.
December 1st, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | ContinuedGreen Tax Incentives
City Council’s Infrastructure Task Force Debates Solar Power Installations
During a panel discussion that was held earlier today at Hunter College, local alternative energy experts and city officials debated how Gotham might encourage increasing solar power to public and private buildings. The City Council’s infrastructure task force organized the forum, and co-chair Daniel Garodnick explained that under current regulations, a building owner is required to pay the costs of hooking a solar power system to the Con Edison grid. It’s not that simple, though; a 32-page .pdf document called “Standardized Interconnection Requirements and Application Process for New Distributed Generators 2 MW or Less Connected in Parallel with Utility Distribution Systems” sets forth the parameters. The New York Times’ City Room blog reports that one idea the task force is considering is creating various “solar empowerment” zones, where neighboring buildings that are suitable for solar installations could tie their arrays together and pay for just one connection to the Con Ed grid.
July 31st, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Albany Reaches Agreement on Amendments to Brownfield Cleanup Program Act
Earlier this week, lawmakers in Albany reached an agreement with Governor Paterson on amendments to New York State’s Brownfield Cleanup Program Act (”BCPA”). Under current BCPA provisions, developers can receive tax credits for up to 22 percent of the cost of remediating a brownfield site. The new Act will increase that figure to 50 percent but include a cap of $35 million (or three times the cleanup cost, whichever is less) for non-manufacturing projects; the cap increases to $45 million (or six times the cleanup cost, again, whichever is less) for manufacturing projects.
June 25th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
$105M Solar Loan Program Approved in Garden State
On Tuesday, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (”BPU”) approved PSE&G’s $105 million Solar Loan Program, which will provide $105 million towards financing photovoltaic systems across residential, multi-family/affordable, commercial, industrial, and non-profit/municipal buildings throughout New Jersey. The program will distribute loans to projects totaling 30 megawatts in solar power generation over the next two years on a first-come, first-served basis, though caps do exist for each sector. (For example, only 3 megawatts are available for affordable housing projects). Participants will pay back the loans, which will cover 40 to 60 percent of installation costs, either with cash or through Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (”SRECs”)- tradable certificates issued by BPU each time a solar power system generates 1 megawatt-hour of power (i.e., the amount of energy equivalent to a 1 megawatt power system running for one hour).
April 11th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 1 comment | Continued
Green Globes Legislation Grows in Garden State: Will Proposed Tax Credit Act Follow?
The New Jersey Green Building Tax Credit Act of 2008 may soon give developers in the Garden State up to $20 million in annual tax credits that they’ll be able to apply to their state corporate, income, sewer, and water taxes. Under S1077, the bill containing the proposed legislation, the amount of credits that would be awarded for a particular project increases as the developer builds to higher levels of LEED certification, up to an additional six percent for LEED Platinum. Over the course of the seven-year program, the total amount of available credits could increase to $50 million. The bill is being sponsored by Essex County Assemblyman John McKeon (D), who hopes that it will be signed into law by July 1.
February 15th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Pittsburgh Approves Green Density Bonuses, Will Consider LEED Mandate for Public and TIF Projects
On Monday, Pittsburgh’s City Council approved a new green building incentive, and entertained a second which it will vote on sometime next year. The first, and less controversial bill, will allow LEED-certified buildings to rise 20 percent higher and include 20 percent more floor area than other buildings in their zoning district. For example, the [...]
November 29th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Wednesday Afternoon Green Links
Bay Area mechanical engineer sees second project earn LEED Platinum (PR)
Nevada legislators worried that green building tax breaks are still too broad (LV Sun)
New Delhi expects its first green building (Delhi Newsline)
USGBC hopes to increase LEED-EB certifications with significant revisions to the rating system (BD+C)
Monday LEEDoff: Nevada Assembly Passes Compromise Green Building Tax Bill
Pursuant to Governor Jim Gibbons’ executive order, issued a couple of weeks ago, the Nevada State Assembly unanimously passed AB621 on Saturday. The legislation will halve the financial hit on state coffers from Nevada’s green building property tax abatement program by reducing the maximum abatement to thirty-five percent. The abatement will now only be applicable [...]
May 29th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Nevada Governor Vetoes Bill Suspending Green Property Tax Abatement Program
On Monday, Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons (R) vetoed SB567, which legislators passed earlier this month to suspend the state’s green building property tax abatement program. Gibbons simultaneously issued an executive order directing state lawmakers to create a new program before the end of their session on June 4. Gibbons commented that his veto was grounded [...]
May 16th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Green Building Incentives Just a Mirage? Nevada Suspends Property Tax Abatement Program
I discussed Nevada’s green building property tax abatement in a post last week, but on Wednesday the state Senate suspended the program, citing a $110 million revenue shortfall through fiscal 2009. While only one building (the Patagonia Distribution Center) has received the abatement, sixty-seven Nevada developments, including two billion dollar projects in Las Vegas (the [...]
May 4th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 1 comment | Continued
Monday LEEDoff: Patagonia Earns Property Tax Abatement Under Nevada Green Building Legislation for LEED Gold Distribution Center in Reno
Patagonia’s Distribution Center in Reno, Nevada (image above) recently received a LEED Gold rating from USGBC for its 171,000 square foot expansion, and the company was just awarded a fifty percent abatement on its property taxes over the next seven years through a state-level green building tax incentive program. Patagonia has realized a forty-seven percent [...]
April 23rd, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 1 comment | Continued
Napa Valley Hotel Demonstrates Dangers to Developers Posed by LEED Creep
In the wake of the D.C. Council passing significant LEED legislation last week, there’s been substantial commentary about how positive the bill is for green building at large. While I agree that the legislation is certainly a step in the right direction, a recent post I wrote about the D.C. mandate describes what the BD+C [...]
December 19th, 2006 | Stephen Del Percio | 5 comments | Continued
BD+C White Paper: Chapter 3, Financing Green Office Buildings
My somewhat ambitious goal for the remainder of 2006, at least with respect to this blog, is to provide a review, with commentary, for each chapter of the 2006 Building Design + Construction green building White Paper (which came out last month and is entitled Green Buildings and the Bottom Line). In my last post [...]
December 5th, 2006 | Stephen Del Percio | 2 comments | Continued
Bronx Borough President Calls for Green Building Tax Breaks
Adolfo Carrion Jr., Bronx Borough President, released a report earlier this month proposing sales tax exemptions and tax credits for businesses investing in green projects. Pointing out the higher cost of green building materials, Carrion said that “tax incentives might be needed, at least in the short term, to encourage green development. . . . [...]
November 11th, 2006 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Links, Including Hybrid Lighting
An excellent overview in Architectural Record about various tax-incentive programs for green/LEED-certified buildings.
This new book, Developing Green: Strategies for Success, written by USGBC LEED faculty member Jerry Yudelson, sounds like a terrific resource for commercial developers interested in learning more about green building practices (or anyone else, for that matter).
Yudelson delineates the practice of building [...]