Boston

As I rode on Amtrak back to New York from Boston, I was struck by just how much fun I had over the past few days at Greenbuild. I met so many of you in person, and I can’t express in words just how much of a thrill it was to finally put a face on the virtual relationships that I’ve built since I started gbNYC. If I only take one thing away from Greenbuild, it’s probably just how powerful a tool blogging and social media will continue to be in our industry as we move forward into 2009. That being said, there were some things about Greenbuild that were better than others, and I’ll present them to you in reverse order- the ugly, the bad, and the good from Greenbuild Boston, 2008:
 

The Ugly: No Discussion of Liability and Risk Management Issues

Real Estate Weekly last week covered the recent Associated Builders and Owners of New York luncheon, which was held at The National Arts Club and featured thoughts from Robert Selsam, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager of Boston Properties. Mr. Selsam described his firm's 250 West 55th Street, which will seek a LEED Gold rating from USGBC. "We want to think of it as a Lever House redux," Selsam said; as REW noted, both the seminal Lever House at 390 Park Avenue and the new tower were designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill as glass boxes rising out of a wider podium base.