Toronto Institutes New Green Roof Policy
On Feb. 1, 2006, the Toronto City Council adopted the first comprehensive set of green roof policies in North America. The set of policies - called Making Green Roofs Happen - includes commitments to install green-roof infrastructure on new and existing buildings, and also recommends the establishment of pilot programs of financial incentives for privately owned green roofs.
Toronto recently commissioned a multidisciplinary green-roof benefits study by Toronto-based Ryerson University. Researchers discovered that 8-percent coverage of existing rooftops with extensive green roofs would generate more than $300 million in initial cost savings in stormwater management, combined sewer overflow reduction, energy savings, and urban heat island reductions. Operational cost savings for the city were calculated at approximately $40 million per year.
Pace Announces PREI Investment in Project’s Phase Two
St. Louis-based Pace Properties has announced its expanded relationship with Prudential Real Estate Investors (PREI®) with a letter of intent to co-invest, on behalf of institutional investors, in Phase Two of the project at The Boulevard - St. Louis. The total investment for Phase One and Two is about $200 million. PREI is the real estate investment and advisory business of Prudential Financial Inc. Phase Two will include a hotel; an additional 110,000 square feet of retail space; and 117 condominium residences. This is in addition to The Allegro’s 74 rental apartments and 120,000 square feet of retail in the existing Phase One. Plans include a fitness club, spa, and full-service hotel in this new block of The Boulevard, just south of Phase One, with planned construction commencing in June.
Pace Properties plans to build 19 low-rise residences along Main Street, known as Valencia Commons, and 98 condominiums in the 17-story Valencia Place. “We have had many people look at The Allegro apartments in Phase One and ask if they can own a residence in The Boulevard. They appreciate the European feeling of the neighborhood, so we are responding to those requests with the Valencia condominiums in Phase Two,” says Rob Sherwood, managing director at Pace. This prime location appeals to those who want a very central location; convenience to Clayton, MO; and lots of amenities, including shopping, dining, parks, and recreation. Tenants are also attracted to an environment where they can surround themselves with lifestyle-enhancing services that can be provided by the hotel, such as cleaning, room service, and poolside meals.
Lighting Research Center Hosts LED Lighting Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lighting Research Center, Troy, NY, will hold a 3-day, hands-on seminar in early May to teach industry professionals about incorporating light-emitting diodes (LEDs) into lighting applications. Featuring workshops and lab sessions about the rapidly evolving market, lighting design, and optical modeling, the LED Lighting Institute will highlight the use of LEDs in new applications and will showcase how the technology can be incorporated into any type of architecture due to its small size, ruggedness, and long life.
For more information, or to register, visit (www.lrc.rpi.edu/education/outreachEducation/LEDInstitute.asp).
IFMA Study Highlights Industry Practices in Operations and Maintenance
The Intl. Facility Management Association (IFMA), Houston, recently released a research report encompassing approximately 420 million square feet of space (including office facilities, museums, hospitals, airports, etc.).
The report includes dollar-per-square-foot averages for housekeeping and maintenance costs, along with practices and staffing ratios. The report also explores how often common janitorial tasks are performed. Report highlights include:
- Fifty-seven (57) percent of washrooms are cleaned once per day, while 40 percent are cleaned more frequently.
- Forty-seven (47) percent of phones are never sanitized; 10 percent are cleaned once per day by janitorial staff.
- Forty-five (45) percent of janitorial contracts are based upon performance, and 55 percent are based upon task and frequency.
The full Operations and Maintenance Benchmarks research report is available online at IFMA’s bookstore
(www.ifma.org/bookstore) or by calling (713) 623-4362.
BOMA Announces New Energy-Saving Solutions Training; First BEEP Course Set for April
BOMA Intl., Washington, D.C., launched a breakthrough training initiative on April 7, 2006, to help the commercial real estate industry counter rising energy costs and reduce energy consumption. The BOMA Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP) has been developed by the BOMA Foundation in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR® program, and is funded in part by an EPA grant. BEEP provides no- and low-cost strategies for reducing the industry’s energy consumption and its annual $24-million energy bill by as much as 30 percent, with the added benefits of improved property value, better indoor air quality, and tenant comfort.
BOMA Foundation Chair Gary Wood says: “Energy is the largest controllable operating expense for office buildings. BEEP fills an important gap in the marketplace by offering straightforward and applicable information about strategic energy management. This program is an essential resource that will improve the value of our members’ properties and the quality of their management.”
The BEEP series of six courses is being offered nationwide via phone conference, with support materials delivered over the Internet in real time. The first course, Introduction to Energy Performance, takes place Friday, April 7. Subsequent courses include: Friday, May 12, How to Benchmark Energy Performance; Friday, June 2, Energy-Efficient Audit Concepts & Economic Benefits; Friday, Sept. 8, No- and Low-Cost Operational Adjustments to Improve Energy Performance; Friday, Oct. 13, Valuing Energy-Enhancement Projects & Financial Returns; and Friday, Nov. 10, Building an Energy-Awareness Program.
Each BEEP seminar runs from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST. Registration fees are $50 per seminar, per site, which allows one or more individuals to participate from the same location for one low fee.
BEEP courses are also being offered at The BOMA Intl. North American Commercial Real Estate Congress® and The Office Building Show, June 24 to 27, in Dallas.
For curriculum details, schedules, registration information, and other resources, visit
(www.boma.org/aboutboma/beep).
ULI Names Design Contest Finalists
Aspiring building industry professionals from Columbia University, Harvard University, and the University of California, Berkeley have been selected as the finalists for the fourth annual ULI (Urban Land Institute) Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition.
The finalist teams are charged with the design of a development site in the city of St. Louis: the proposed Chouteau Greenway, a development project spearheaded by McCormack Baron Salazar in St. Louis on behalf of a coalition of public and private sponsors in the city.
The project involves creating a greenway from Memorial Park on the Mississippi River westward to the city’s 1,300-acre Forest Park over a course set to include 195 acres of public space and 2,000 acres of mixed-use redeveloped space adjoining the greenway.
Created in 2002, the student ideas competition honors the legacy of urban development pioneer Gerald D. Hines, chairman of the Houston-based Hines real estate organization. It is open to graduate students who are pursuing real estate-related studies at a North American university, including programs in real estate development, city planning, urban design, architecture, and landscape architecture.
The winning team will receive $50,000. An additional $30,000 will be split among the remaining finalist teams. The four finalist teams were chosen from 81 teams comprised of more than 400 students representing 30 universities in the United States and Canada.
According to the Washington, D.C.-based ULI, the competition is designed as an exercise; there is no guarantee that the students’ plans will be implemented as part of any development of the site.
The HON Company Receives Indoor Advantage™ Gold
Muscatine, IA-based The HON Company’s Accomplish™ line of classroom furniture is the first school product to be certified as Indoor Advantage™ Gold for indoor air quality.
“We are excited to offer the first line of school furniture that has been awarded the Indoor Advantage Gold certification for air- quality safety. This certification represents the new standard for air-quality testing. Air quality is a major concern among school administrators,” says Jim Kane, vice president of business development for The HON Company, Muscatine, IA.
Indoor Advantage certification is administered by SCS (Scientific Certification Systems) of Emeryville, CA. The certification relies on data collected through small chamber testing, which allows manufacturers to examine a product’s individual components.
