LEEDing the Way
A North Carolina hotel aims for Platinum status.
The Proximity Hotel (left) in Greensboro, N.C., wants to become the first LEED Platinum-certified lodging establishment. Solar panels heat 60 percent of the inn’s water; rooms feature large windows to maximize natural light; and the regenerative-drive elevator is the first in North America.
High Design
John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts of Springfield, Mo., has earmarked more than $44 million in property capital improvements for 2008. The firm is the nation’s leading independent builder, developer, owner, and manager of upscale, full-service hotels and resorts with properties in 25 states.
Money Talks
Houston-based apartment developer Camden Property Trust announced a fund to buy up to $1 billion worth of existing multifamily properties and land for development. The company has a $150 million commitment to the Camden Multifamily Value-Add Fund from an unaffiliated investor; Camden’s stake is 20 percent.
Good Care
Health Care REIT reported a 9 percent total return for the fourth quarter of 2007. That outperformed the Morgan Stanley REIT index total return, which declined nearly 17 percent in the same period.
For The Birds
The City of Chicago and the Audubon Society have launched Lights Out, a voluntary program that enlists the help of developers in reducing the amount of perimeter lighting for buildings. The program also encourages the use of lower intensity and/or motion-sensitive lighting to reduce the likelihood that migratory birds will collide with the structures. The effort saves an estimated 10,000 birds annually. Get tips at http://lightsout.audubon.org/lightsout_toolkit.php.
New Rules
The Uniform Environmental Covenants Act, adopted by 21 states as of February 2007, allows for the long-term enforcement of clean-up controls—such as use restrictions and well prohibitions—to be governed by an agreement known as an “environmental covenant.” The document will be binding on subsequent purchasers of the property and listed in local land records. To learn more, visit www.environmentalcovenants.org.
[ executive feedback ]
Q&A Describe the mixed-use property of the future.
A: The key factors that will drive mixed-use [development] are concerns about our environment, commute times, infrastructure expenses, [and] transportation costs—fuel prices will soon hit $4 a gallon. These will all play a part in making people stay close to home.
—DAN STEFFEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF DEVELOPMENT, GUARDIAN MANAGEMENT, PORTLAND, ORE.
A: The mixed-use property of the future is geared toward a lifestyle [not] a demographic. The common
thread of the users will not be a specific age or gender but, rather, a mindset. [Mixed-use] addresses the complete living experience—residential, retail, office—and does it in a thriving, energetic urban environment.
—CHRISTINA NOELLE, PRINCIPAL, MCZ DEVELOPMENT CORP., CHICAGO
A: Although communities will be walkable with planned open space, structured parking is a critical element. Geotechnical and environmental engineering challenges must be met to build subsurface parking. [That will help] transform existing one-dimensional structures into vibrant work/live/play destinations.
—DAVID GOCKEL, PRESIDENT AND CEO, LANGAN ENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, ELMWOOD
PARK, N.J.
A: Future mixed-use projects will be vertical in orientation, more densely developed, and set in both suburban and urban areas. Tenant mix will differ from present models. The retail at future projects will serve the residents’ daily and/or weekly needs, reducing automobile usage, saving time, and improving their
lifestyle.
—KENNETH SMITH, PRINCIPAL AND MANAGING PARTNER, GSG DEVELOPMENT, LAS VEGAS
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Lofty Goal-Abu Dhabi aims to create the ultimate waste-free city.
The United Arab Emirates’ newest metropolis, Masdar, hopes to be the greenest city in the world. No cars will be allowed. Wind farms, solar panel fields, and photovoltaic technology will provide power. And a desalination plant will turn seawater into a usable resource.
It’s hard to imagine building a completely sustainable, waste-free city of 40,000 people in the middle of the
desert, but it’s an interesting experiment that has captured the real estate community’s undivided attention.
“It has created very high expectations,” says Christopher Choa, a principal with the London office of EDAW design firm and an expert on creating social, economic, and environmental sustainability through high-performance urbanism. Many aspects of the city are achievable, he says, but realistically, “it will be
very hard to deliver while acknowledging the realities of urban life.”
If Masdar succeeds—even partially—developers should take note and apply the initiatives to existing American cities, says sustainability consultant Jamie Qualk, director of the sustainable solutions group of
SSRCx, a Nashville, Tenn.-based commissioning subsidiary of Smith Seckman Reid. But instead of building from scratch, he’d like to see an existing city dedicate itself to being wholly sustainable.
“The greenest thing we can do is utilize existing structures,” Qualk says. Unfortunately, the biggest setback in America is a lack of green government incentives. “The private sector is gaining momentum in sustainable building, but if the government would, for example, require all new construction to be LEED Silver-certified, it would force the industry to take on initiatives as profound as Masdar.”
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