Tall and Sustainable Is Not an Easy Fix

chrisghill@constructionlawva.com (Christopher G. Hill) — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 11:18:00 -0400

Way back in 2009, I discussed the interaction between taller and taller buildings and sustainable ("green") building. Back then, the reference was to the construction of skyscrapers in the Middle East and Europe. The

Introduction

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) includes the §179D tax deduction for investments in "energy-efficient commercial building property" designed to significantly reduce the heating, cooling, water heating, and interior lighting energy cost of new or existing commercial buildings. This energy-efficient commercial building property must be placed into service between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2013. The §179D tax deduction was designed by Congress to incentivize the utilization of energy-efficiency components in a building to one of the following parties:

The owner of the building

Capital Review Group: Are You Ready to Take Advantage of the New Green Tax Incentives?

CapitalReviewGroup@placeholder.com (Capital Review Group) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 11:15:00 -0400

INTRODUCTION

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 includes a tax deduction for investments in "energy-efficient commercial building property" designed to significantly reduce the heating, cooling, water heating, and interior lighting energy cost of new or existing commercial buildings. This energy-efficient commercial building property must be placed into service between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2013.

If you are a building owner or a tenant/lessee who has paid for energy efficient construction or improvement projects, you may be eligible for a tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot for improving the energy

Capital Review Group: Grasping the Tax Opportunities for Apartment Building Owners

CapitalReviewGroup@placeholder.com (Capital Review Group) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:41:00 -0400

Thanks to §179 of the Energy Policy Act (EPAct), new and existing apartment buildings not only can recognize significant reductions in energy costs, but may also qualify for substantial tax deductions for energy-efficient construction and renovations.

sustainable (or "green") building. I am solidly behind the environmental and other benefits of this type of construction. However, I have likened myself to that loveable donkey Eeyore on more than one occasion when discussing the headlong charge to a sustainable future. While I see the great benefits of a privately built and privately driven marketplace for sustainable (I prefer this term to "green" because I find it less

“Green” Expectations. . . or Just Expectations (“green” is not a specification; it’s a paint color)

chrisghill@constructionlawva.com (Christopher G. Hill) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:54:00 -0400

I was having a discussion regarding "green" building with my friend and recent guest poster here at Musings, Nick Pacella (@nmpacella) this past week and (as often happens when I chat with the great folks in the construction world) it got me to thinking. Is "Green" its own separate category of construction, or just another sub-set of possible specifications for a construction project with it's own set of challenges?

Much has been made of sustainable construction from a risk management,

By Neil Lowenstein

Below is a summary of the new Congressional LEED spending restrictions for DOD prepared by one our firm attorneys, George Nicholos.

Sudden Policy Re-direction / Congress Restricts LEED Spending at Department of Defense

The Department of Defense (DoD) has been at the forefront of implementing goals in areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy, recycling, water conservation, and use of sustainable building strategies which were set by Executive

McDermott Will & Emery: Treasury Clarifies 5 Percent Safe Harbor Ownership Guidelines for Section 1603 Grants for Renewable Energy Projects

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:55:00 -0400

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP: CEQA Amendments from the 2011 Legislative Session

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:12:00 -0400

By Judy Davidoff and Alex Merritt

In the 2011 session, the California Legislature and the Governor passed several bills to amend CEQA. As summarized below, these bills streamline the review process for green projects, environmental leadership projects, and a proposed football stadium; relax water supply assessment requirements for photovoltaic and wind energy projects; and clarify requirements for naming and serving real parties in interest in CEQA lawsuits.

1. SB 226 (Simitian)

SB 226 amends CEQA

Foley & Lardner LLP: Commercial PACE Funding Models Race to Finish Line

FoleyandLardner@placeholder.com (Foley & Lardner LLP) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:29:00 -0400

By Emerson M. Lotzia

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) legislation has been enacted in 27 states and the District of Columbia and will offer significant opportunities for owners of commercial facilities (e.g., office, retail, and industrial) (Owners), PACE lenders and bondholders (Program Lenders), Energy Service Companies (ESCOs), existing property lenders (Banks), and third-party administrators (TPAs) to benefit from a tax lien financing program that provides a business owner the ability to install energy retrofit equipment and components that

Upcoming Municipal Green Construction Code

karell@ccesworld.com (Marc Karell) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:34:00 -0400

By Marc Karell, P.E., CEM, Principal, Climate Change & Environmental Services, LLC

The International Code Council (ICC) is in the process of rolling out final standards for Green Construction, called International Green Construction Codes (IgCC), in March 2012 (www.iccsafe.org/cs/IGCC). The IgCC is intended to be an enforceable code for municipalities to seamlessly adopt

Whence Green Building?

chrisghill@constructionlawva.com (Christopher G. Hill) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 07:42:00 -0400

It has been a while since I last "mused" on sustainable (or "green") building. Since my last post on the subject much has been in the news, and most of it negative in some way. While much good has occurred to advance the sustainable building cause, recent news on this front has shed an unnecessarily negative light on the concept.

On the mixed blessing front, the false advertising lawsuit by Mr. Gifford against the USGBC has U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in federal court in New York, alleging that the organization made false or misleading statements in connection with its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification system for green buildings.

Specifically, Henry Gifford and the other plaintiffs accused the USGBC of making false statements regarding the energy and money-saving aspects of LEED certification in a 2008 press release, which says the results of a 2008 study:

indicate that new buildings certified under the [USGBC's] LEED certification system are, on average, performing 25-30% better than

Ulmer & Berne: Financing Renewable Energy: Protect the Planet, Boost your ROI

GregoryStein@placeholder.com (Gregory P. Stein) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 07:05:00 -0400

By Greg Stein

Protecting this planet's natural resources for future generations is a moral obligation; unfortunately, moral obligations do not pay the bills. Coal is a nonrenewable resource that causes pollution. But it's cheap. Renewable energy is often a more expensive alternative to using coal, oil, or natural gas to produce energy. Recognizing that renewable

Foley & Lardner LLP: Letters of Intent for Green Leases for Office and Retail

FoleyandLardner@placeholder.com (Foley & Lardner LLP) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:22:00 -0400

By Emerson M. Lotzia

When a landlord or tenant desires a green or sustainable lease pursuant to (i) internal policies or corporate branding or (ii) requires such a lease because of financing or monetary incentives, addressing the key green or sustainable lease issues in the letter of intent or lease proposal (collectively, the LOI) can save much time and expense in finalizing the lease. This article will discuss the key elements of a green or sustainable lease that should be addressed in any LOI.

1. Sustainability Standards.

As referenced above

Ulmer & Berne LLP: Green Leasing Unveiled - Part II

JohnCWeber@placeholder.com (John C. Weber) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:30:00 -0400

By John Weber

In Part I of our series on the particulars of Green Leasing, we discussed Lease Term and Operating Expenses. Now we turn to a robust area for implementing sustainable processes between Landlords and Tenants:

Interior Alterations

Construction and Green Building Roundup

chrisghill@constructionlawva.com (Christopher G. Hill) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:55:00 -0400

Over the past week or so, several great pieces have been written across the web relating to green building and other construction industry related topics. Without re-hashing the great analysis found in those articles, I thought that it would be helpful to point them out.

On the green building front, the International Green Construction Code or IGCC (2.0) was introduced at Green Build to much debate and acclaim. As pointed out by my friend and fellow LEED AP construction attorney, Doug Reiser (@douglasreiser) in his Builder's Counsel Blog, several states

A Few Green Building Notes

chrisghill@constructionlawva.com (Christopher G. Hill) — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:48:00 -0400

This past week, the blogosphere (if that's even the word these days) has been abuzz about green building and the value that green can add to a project. Three items in particular (among many) got my attention.

The first of these was the fact that a new private sustainability rating system is ready for launch. The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (or ISI) is seeking public comment on its proposed envISIon. This new system (aptly dubbed Version 1.0) will go "live" in July for comment. Why mention this new system? First of all, ISI's founding members are the

Green Building- Interesting Third Party Issues

chrisghill@constructionlawva.com (Christopher G. Hill) — Wed, 11 May 2011 07:12:00 -0400

Originally posted 2009-08-24 09:00:00.

As I was following some of the posts by @imadnaffa on Twitter, I came across a post by a consultant that guarantees LEED Certification. This got me thinking about the myriad issues relating to the third party certification aspect of adding such certification to construction contracts and the relationship of consultants to this process.

Much has already been said, particularly at the Green Building Law Update, a great blog by my friend Chris Cheatham (@chrischeatham on Twitter

Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law: New York City Announces Green Lease Project

CullenHowe@placeholder.com (J. Cullen Howe) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 13:17:00 -0400

Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law: Building Energy Audits and Benchmarking – A Growing Trend

CullenHowe@placeholder.com (J. Cullen Howe) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 12:56:00 -0400

By J. Cullen Howe, Environmental

Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law: President Obama Launches Better Buildings Initiative

CullenHowe@placeholder.com (J. Cullen Howe) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 11:55:00 -0400

The Federal Trade Commission announced Tuesday that it reached an agreement with Tested Green settling allegations that the company sold worthless environmental certifications and falsely represented that its certifications were endorsed by independent firms when the firms were actually owned by Tested Green. This settlement is another example of the FTC's continuing focus on green marketing claims, coming only a few months after the FTC announced its proposed revisions to the Green Guides.

According to the FTC, Tested Green advertised, marketed, and sold environmental certifications, but never tested any of the companies it provided with certifications. Tested

Study Ranks Top 10 in Green Homebuilding; Reveals Need for Improvement

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 07:14:00 -0400

Recently, Calvert Investments, a Bethesda, M.D.-based investment group, released a study entitled “A Green Recovery for America’s Homebuilders? A Survey of Sustainable Practices by the Homebuilding Industry,” which examined America’s 10 largest publicly traded homebuilders and their policies/practices related to green building.

The study examined the builders using five major areas, each one presenting significant challenges to the industry--land, building materials, energy, water, and climate change. The study, which ranked Los Angeles-based KB Home, No. 1, and Pulte Homes of Bloomfield Hills, No. 2, showed that out of a possible 42 points, the nation's top 10 builders averaged 6 points or around 15%. However, without KB Home and Pulte Homes, the average dropped significantly--an average of less than 6%.

The top 10 homebuilders, with their 2008

Real Estate Law Community Green Buildings

Tall and Sustainable Is Not an Easy Fix

Capital Review Group: Are You Ready to Take Advantage of the New Green Tax Incentives?

Capital Review Group: Grasping the Tax Opportunities for Apartment Building Owners

“Green” Expectations. . . or Just Expectations (“green” is not a specification; it’s a paint color)

McDermott Will & Emery: Treasury Clarifies 5 Percent Safe Harbor Ownership Guidelines for Section 1603 Grants for Renewable Energy Projects

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP: CEQA Amendments from the 2011 Legislative Session

Foley & Lardner LLP: Commercial PACE Funding Models Race to Finish Line

Upcoming Municipal Green Construction Code

Whence Green Building?

Ulmer & Berne: Financing Renewable Energy: Protect the Planet, Boost your ROI

Foley & Lardner LLP: Letters of Intent for Green Leases for Office and Retail

Ulmer & Berne LLP: Green Leasing Unveiled - Part II

Construction and Green Building Roundup

A Few Green Building Notes

Green Building- Interesting Third Party Issues

Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law: New York City Announces Green Lease Project

Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law: Building Energy Audits and Benchmarking – A Growing Trend

Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law: President Obama Launches Better Buildings Initiative

Study Ranks Top 10 in Green Homebuilding; Reveals Need for Improvement