Multifamily Trends
March_April 2008
Feature Article
Location, Location, Location: Building Green Is about More Than Building
by
John McIlwain
The impact of local land planning on carbon emissions is likely to become a new area of regulation—if, that is, the United States acts decisively to reduce carbon emissions.
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In This Issue
- A Model of Green in North Carolina
Construction is progressing on Greenbridge, a new condominium and mixed-used project being built on a 54,724-square-foot plot in the heart of downtown Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The 216,850-square-foot complex, which will include 98 dwellings at various price points, two levels of underground parking (one for the public and one for tenants), and 35,000 square feet of retail space, is intended to be a model for sustainable building practices in the Southeast when it opens in 2009. From the outset, developer Greenbridge Developments of Chapel Hill and designer William McDonough + Partners of Charlottesville, Virginia—with architect of record GGA Architects, also of Chapel Hill—approached the project as a system. This allowed the firms to explore environmentally effective solutions in every aspect—from building form to energy to materials. - Amenities Respond to Place
Reflecting the specific attributes of their region allows middle-market multifamily housing developments to stand out in a competitive market. - Closing the Gap in Affordable Housing
Inefficiencies and limitations in the ability to acquire capital within this sector suggest that the affordable housing industry is now at a crossroads. - First, Do No Harm
Since the days of Hippocrates, members of the medical profession have striven to do no harm in their attempt to heal their patients. Certainly, the day-to-day challenges facing developers are a distant cry from the immediate life-and-death issues confronting many doctors on a daily basis, yet the development community is becoming increasingly aware that its ability to reshape the land and natural resources into human habitats has the potential to do significant harm to the planet and the people who inhabit it. For example, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration, 35 percent of the greenhouse gases emitted from the United States come from the operation of residential and commercial buildings while another 28 percent comes from transportation (largely among those various buildings). Greenhouse gases contribute significantly to climate change. - Home Sweet Home
Property once owned by the Imperial Sugar Company in Sugar Land, Texas—a town west of Houston that has been the company’s home base since operations began in 1843—is being developed into a 650-acre mixed-use community that incorporates commercial and retail space, as well as single-family homes. Environmental remediation began in March, and construction of the first phase of the project is expected to begin early next year. - Is LEED Certification Worth It?
According to the U.S. Green Building Council, studies indicate that the return on investment is 6.6 percent higher for green commercial buildings than for conventional structures. The data on residential construction, however, are not yet in. - Making Pools and Spas Safer
In an effort to prevent suction entrapment, a new federal law requires that by this December existing public pools and spas be retrofitted with approved drain covers and, in some cases, equipped with additional safety devices. - MFT Cover March/April 2008
- MFT TOC March/April 2008
- Texas Multifamily
What are some of the hottest real estate trends in the Lone Star State’s multifamily sector? - The Ripple Effect
Both quantitative and qualitative evidence shows that the revitalization of public and affordable housing has a profoundly positive effect that goes far beyond the physical boundaries of the individual project.