Sustainable Development Focus
Commercial Property Executive - Aug 23 Kilroy Realty Corp. has earned two LEED Gold certifications for 469,000 square feet of the office component of the Columbia Square mixed-use development project in Hollywood. The office component comprises historic and new office buildings that are leased to several well-known entertainment and media companies, including Viacom and Fender. Sustainable elements were incorporated into all aspects of the building design. “We installed an innovative Variable Refrigerant Management System that is very energy efficient, and our system can bring in 100 percent outdoor air for improved ventilation,” Sara Neff, Kilroy Realty’s senior vice president of sustainability said. “We reduced water in the landscape and indoors via waterless urinals and other low flow fixtures. We also went through enhanced commissioning and really focused on indoor air quality in our materials purchasing.” The building also offers onsite composting, electric car charging stations, and a bicycle parking amenity with lockers and showers. In addition to the office component, the 685,000-square-foot mixed-use project includes a 200-unit residential tower, which is pursuing WELL certification, focusing on human health.
SFGate - Sep 2 From the sidewalk, the Whole Foods building on upper Market Street in San Francisco looks like any other sleek new development. But there’s a difference on the roof, where a lush garden provides an oasis. Now imagine gardens like that on rooftops across the city. San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener is introducing legislation that aims to do just that. It builds on a law the Board of Supervisors passed in April that requires new residential and commercial buildings 10 stories or shorter to install electricity-generating solar panels or a solar heating system that covers 15 percent of the roof. Wiener, who introduced the law, said it was the first of its kind in the country. His new legislation would allow green roofs, also known as living roofs, to fulfill the solar requirement. Essentially, for every square foot intended for solar energy, there would have to be 2 square feet of green space — the idea being that at that calculation the two options would cost roughly the same. Developers could also combine solar and green roof space to meet their obligations.
Co.Exist - Aug 25 Zero net energy buildings, which generate as much power as they use, are becoming more common in high-end developments or single-family homes. In the heart of the Tenderloin, San Francisco's most run-down neighborhood, an old hotel that houses formerly homeless people is getting a net-zero makeover. "We started realizing the scalable impacts that a project like this could have on affordable housing," said Stan Lew, an architect and director of the San Francisco 2030 District, which is partnering with the owner of the building on the project. A $3 million grant from the California Energy Commission is funding the redesign. As it adds new energy-saving technology and solar panels on the roof, the developers aim to eliminate utility bills, which should help lower rent for the at-risk residents inside. Some of the potential energy-saving changes, such as better access to natural light, or new ventilation systems, can also improve quality of life in the tiny, single-occupancy rooms.
Solar Industry Magazine - Sep 2 Last week, Boulder, Colorado, Mayor Suzanne Jones announced that the city would commit to being powered by 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. The Sierra Club says that with Boulder’s announcement, 17 cities, including San Diego and Salt Lake City, have announced commitments to 100 percent clean energy, and five cities in the U.S. have already achieved 100 percent clean energy and are powered today with entirely renewable sources.
National Real Estate Investor - Aug 29 Commercial building owners are already using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager to measure energy, water, and greenhouse gas metrics in more than 450,000 U.S. buildings, representing over 40 percent of the country's commercial space, as well as in more than 10,000 buildings in Canada. Portfolio Manager now allows commercial building owners to benchmark 29 types of waste across four different management metrics. Among those types of waste are building materials, glass, paper, plastics, and trash. According to EPA, U.S. commercial buildings and manufacturing activities currently are responsible for as much as 45 percent of the 150 million tons of U.S. waste sent to incinerators or landfills each year.
