Energy Star

195 Broadway is a 29-story, landmarked tower at the corner of Fulton and Dey Streets in lower Manhattan. Owner L&L Holding Company recently earned a 2008 Energy Star Award from EPA for the 1 million-square-foot building, which was built in 1916, and was home to AT&T until the company moved to Midtown in 1983. The Energy Star label denotes that 195 Broadway is using 35 percent less energy than a comparable structure.

Designed by William Welles Bosworth, the neo-classical tower was built in three phases between 1912 and 1923. AT&T actually asked Bosworth to design a structure that "imparts a sense of solidity, permanence, and enduring quality." As you can see, the architecture is a direct reference to the ancient Greeks and Romans; 50 Doric columns line the lobby and all 183 exterior columns and walls were built with Vermont granite. The building also, allegedly, contains the most marble of any building in New York City. CB Richard Ellis is 195 Broadway's exclusive leasing agent and L&L reports that the tower is currently 100 percent occupied.

The New York Observer recently profiled leasing activity at 14 Wall Street, the landmarked 37-story, Trowbridge & Livingston tower that dates from 1912. Here at gbNYC, we noted over the summer that the property, which is owned by Capstone Equities and The Carlyle Group, had earned a 2008 Energy Star award from EPA. Perhaps not unsurprisingly, then, the Observer reports that 20 percent of all Downtown leasing activity during the fourth quarter of 2008 took place at 14 Wall.

New Jersey may soon be the first state in the U.S. to offer a sales tax exemption for certain green building products. Bill S-1778, introduced by state senator Bill Baroni (R- Mercer/Middlesex) would provide consumers with an exemption from New Jersey's seven (7) percent sales tax for EnergyStar-rated residential appliances, including refrigerators, ceiling fans, and fluorescent light bulbs. Although other states- including Vermont- have offered similar temporary green product sales tax exemptions, the New Jersey legislation would be the first to go permanently on a state's books. The program would be called "Buy Green, Save Green," and the bill is also being sponsored by Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt, a Democrat from Camden. However, some businesses in southern New Jersey are concerned about the bill's potential impact on Urban Enterprise Zones, where the state sales tax is only 3.5 percent, as many businesses tout their UEZ locations in promotional materials.

Advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi recently renewed an 819,000-square-foot lease at Tishman Speyer's 375 Hudson Street, which earned a 2007 Energy Star Award from EPA earlier this year. The 1.2 million-square-foot, 19-story building, which stands at the corner of West Houston Street, has been home to Saatchi since 1985, when rents in the Hudson Square submarket were approximately $20 per square foot. The firm was the first ad agency to relocate from Midtown down to Hudson Square, where according to Jones Lang LaSalle rents are currently averaging $59 per square foot. CB Richard Ellis represented Saatchi in the lease negotiations; asking rent details are not available.