San Francisco

San Francisco

Green Commercial Office Space in New York City Currently Ranks Third in U.S.

Tue

Feb

According to a report that was released last month by the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at the University of San Diego, Los Angeles is first among U.S. cities when it comes to LEED - or Energy Star-certified commercial office space. The CoStar Group provided the data upon which the report was based and ranked cities by the total amount of their square footage that has earned either the LEED or Energy Star designation; no breakdown appears to be readily available that segregates the figures according to individual rating system. Los Angeles topped the list with 100 buildings and 26.2 million square feet while Houston checked in at #2 with 46 buildings and 21.1 million square feet. Also in the top five were Washington, D.C. with 61 buildings and 19.8 million square feet, New York City with 11 buildings and 12.3 million square feet, and San Francisco with 30 buildings and 11.9 million square feet.

New Resource Bank Targets Green Development With Construction Loan Discounts

Fri

Feb

by Stephen Del Percio

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San Francisco-based New Resource Bank, founded in 2005 as the country’s first bank specifically created for green business, has launched a loan program which will provide developers with financial incentives for green building projects. The bank’s founding members include green building experts Greg Kats, Jonathan Rose, and Malcolm Lewis of CTG Energetics, and the new program will offer lower interest rates and higher loan-to-value ratios in order to both encourage green development and assist developers and investors turn a higher profit on green projects.

More on Trees in LA: The Million Trees Initiative

Tue

Nov

by Stephen Del Percio

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After chatting with me about yesterday's post, my good friend ND out in Los Angeles pointed me to a terrific project that's taking place across the City of Angels right now. The Million Trees LA Initiative is a collaborative program spearheaded by the city, community groups, local businesses, and residents with the goal of planting one million new trees across L.A. Preference is given to native and other drought-tolerant species, and the initiative will work in concert with other existing local tree programs.

Transbay

Thu

May

by Stephen Del Percio

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An interesting project out of San Francisco. Like the office building, Robbins says the residential tower will be very environmentally sensitive. “I don’t think the residential market gives a damn [about green building]; most buyers have never even heard about LEED certification,” Robbins says. “The thing we will market the most is a really well thought out design that saves people money [through energy efficiency].” This seems to be a common hook for both residential and commercial developers fishing for tenants.