Southern California Green Real Estate Blog

INVESTING IN THE DOWNTOWN – THE TO-DO LIST

INVESTING IN THE DOWNTOWN – THE TO-DO LIST

The conclusions drawn from the recently released 2009 Emerging Trends in Real Estate report by the Urban Land Institute and PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP are not pretty.

“Total expected returns on private equity real estate investments will likely drop into negative territory for the first time in nearly two decades as the market hits bottom next year,” the report suggests.

We slowly being to recover in 2010. The trough and recovery is predicted to be more U-shaped than V-shaped.

The report’s advice to investors and property owners to make it through the slow period:

· Go green. Cutting energy and other operating cost is likely to be a growing priority for both landlords and tenants.

· Buy or hold multifamily; hold office. Hold hotels, buy residential building lots, but be prepared to hold.

· Purchase distressed condos in urban areas near transit.

· Focus on neighborhood retail centers with strong grocery anchors and chain drugstores.

Info courtesy of:

http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=41A9DE2D4E098EDEFBB56A05FBBB79A3

LA COMMUNITY COLLEGES ARE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD VENDORS

LACCD Educating Green & Building Green

The Los Angeles Community College District’s Proposition A/AA Bond Program passed a total of $6 billion for new buildings and modernization projects at its nine colleges. Sustainability is woven into the very fabric of the program, from using the highest green building standards for construction to developing a curriculum for the new green economy, LACCD is preparing LA residents for the green collar jobs of the 21st century.

Starting with building the most energy efficient buildings using sustainble building materials, LACCD will also produce enough energy to meet all electricity needs around the clock, making each campus energy independent with renewable energy production on site.

LACCD has partnered with Green Building Pages to use the Benchcmarking Sustainability comprehensive criteria and transparent format to seek sustainable products for their projects.

Be part of Green Building Pages

Request LACCD Vendor Consideration

Include your product in the Green Hive Library and LACCD SourcePoint Showroom, a permanent showroom space in the heart of Los Angeles.

Submit YOUR product for LACCD Vendor Consideration

For More Information:
www.laccdbuildsgreen.blip.tv
www.greenbuildingpages.com/
www.laccdbuildsgreen.org
www.laccdbuildsgreen.org/e7_architecture_studio.php#

DIDJA KNOW…THE LIFESPAN OF CARPET

DIDJA KNOW…THE LIFESPAN OF CARPET

The “lifespan” of carpet is a function of the quality of the carpet and the intensity of use and many other factors such as sunlight. Columnist Robert Griswold notes, “So while each carpet must be evaluated individually, I think it is safe to say that the usual range of years for the average life of an apartment-grade carpet is 5-10 years.”

THE MOJAVE SOLAR PARK

THE MOJAVE SOLAR PARK

Bravo! In a perfect world, when the Mojave Solar Park is fully operational in 2011, it will deliver 553 MW of solar thermal power. In the middle of a sunny day will generate about 800 megawatts of power, roughly equal to the size of a large coal-burning power plant or a small nuclear plant.

The power will be sold to Pacific Gas & Electric, which is under a state mandate to get 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010. (As opposed to Arizona, which is expected to do 15% by 2025.????) The utility which will use photovoltaic technology to turn sunlight directly into electricity, to be competitive with other renewable energy sources, including wind turbines and solar thermal plants (which use the sun’s heat to boil water).

The New York Times notes that California’s 20 percent renewable standard is one of the toughest, and companies there are afraid they will miss a deadline in 2010. Pacific Gas & Electric expects that when the new plants are completed, its total will rise to 24 percent, but not until 2013.

Solar power remains expensive compared with generating electricity from the more traditional methods of coal and natural gas, but quotas being set by the states are driving down the cost.

The Mojave Desert has been a solar center for several decades. Wikipedia notes that Insolation (solar radiation) in the Mojave Desert is among the best available in the United States, making the Mojave Desert particularly suitable for solar power plants. These plants can generally be built in a few years because solar plants are built almost entirely with modular, readily available materials.

Already, there are several solar power plants in the Mojave Desert which supply power to the electricity grid. Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) is the name given to nine solar power plants in the Mojave Desert which were built in the 1980s. These plants have a combined capacity of 354 megawatts (MW) making them the largest solar power installation in the world.

Nevada Solar One is a new solar thermal plant with a 64-MW generating capacity, located near Boulder City, NV. That plant that uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight.

At 800 megawatts total, the new Mojave Solar Park will greatly exceed the scale of previous solar installations. The largest photovoltaic installation in the United States, 14 megawatts, is at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, using SunPower panels.

Spain has a 23-megawatt plant, and Germany is building one of 40 megawatts.

Sources:

http://www.car.org/newsstand/crem/current-issue/october2008/235686/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_plants_in_the_Mojave_Desert

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3007/

http://www.environment.co.za/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2117

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/business/15solar.html

GREEN CONTRACTOR STATISTICS

GREEN CONTRACTOR STATISTICS

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), more than
1,000 builders, remodelers, and other members of the home building industry
have earned the Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation, an
educational recognition introduced in 2008 by NAHB. You can locate a CGP at
www.nahb.org/builderremodelerdirectory.

In related news, NAHB surveyed its builder members and found that 89 percent
of respondents reported installing energy-efficient appliances and lighting
in their projects; 64 percent are using recycled and recyclable products;
and 50 percent are using substantially more insulation than required by
building codes (this number increases to 70 percent for West Coast
respondents).
 
http://www.car.org/newsstand/crem/current-issue/october2008/235686/

2009 IS ABOUT HOW TO GO GREEN

2009 IS ABOUT HOW TO GO GREEN 

In 2009, the U.S. Green Building Council (http://www.usgbc.org) plans to focus on why homeowners and multiunit property owners should go green.

“The message is…why to go green and how to go green,” confirms Nate Kredich, USGBC’s vice president of residential market development.

In 2009, the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit plans to collaborate with local green home building programs and select 20 to 25 local home builder associations across the country to spread the green message.

Already the USGBC has successfully organized initiatives in New Mexico and Texas. Also in the first quarter of ‘09, USGBC expects to offer training courses to certify LEED for Homes accredited professionals.

Some statistics…since January 2008, 1,028 homes have received LEED for Homes certification with an additional 3,261 homes registered and awaiting certification. Notably, 45 percent of the certified units, which includes both single-family and multifamily homes, are affordable. Santa Monica’s Colorado Court is a fine example of green affordable housing.

USGBC also launched its REGREEN initiative, which includes guidelines for greening renovation projects. These guidelines are available
for free download online @ www.regreenprogram.org.

Sustainable development is also catching on in the multifamily sector,
“Multifamily is a market that knows LEED already as they have participated in the new construction program,” Kredich says. “They are starting to look at LEED for Homes as another option.”

The USGBC recently launched a new mid-rise test pilot initiative. The program will certify four- to six-story buildings that previously received certification
under the LEED for Homes initiative.

LEED for Homes Certification Breakdown
Certified: 24%
Silver: 40%
Gold: 22%
Platinum: 15%

Info courtesy of

http://www.ecohomemagazine.com/news/us-green-building-council-unveils-2009-plans.aspx

http://www.nahb.org/builderremodelerdirectory

http://www.car.org/newsstand/crem/current-issue/october2008/235686/

WHOEVER YOU WANT FOR THE WHITE HOUSE

Dear Friends,

So here we are about to elect one of two US Senators to the White House.   Whoever wins gets to inherit a mess on the financial market and 2 war fronts riddled with the worst of entrenched guerilla warfare (very Vietnam like).  Historically Senators do not make successful Presidents.

Then there are the conspiracy theorists…  Some bashing Obama as a sleeper radical Muslim.   But there is the issue of McCain having been in internment camps for years.  So who is more likely to be a “Manchurian Candidate”?   It easily could be Obama or McCain.  Maybe it is both and we are totally screwed!

Have fun voting next Tuesday.  Regardless of who you vote for in the top office, please  think long and hard before voting in favor of the many state and local bond measures.   There will be very little money in the next few years to pay for them.  State and local tax revenues are going to be way down for the next 3 to 5 years.

IMHO  Keith

I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
- Will Rogers