Colorado Real Estate Journal - December 16, 2015
The New Energy Improvement District launched a statewide Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program – providing commercial property owners a unique mechanism to finance energy efficiency, renewable energy and water-conservation improvements. The C-PACE program offers commercial property owners the opportunity to spread energy and water project costs over a term of up to 20 years and repay them through an assessment on their property tax bill, with no upfront capital outlay. “Commercial buildings currently account for about 20 percent of Colorado’s energy use. Colorado’s Commercial PACE program offers a financial tool to help spur energy efficiency and renewable energy investments in our state’s building infrastructure, providing long-term utility savings, while stimulating the economy,” said Paul Scharfenberger, chairman of the New Energy Improvement District board. The program provides financing for a variety of improvements, including new heating or cooling systems, lighting, water pumps, insulation, solar panels and other renewable energy projects. Typical long-term C-PACE financing covers 100 percent of a project’s cost and is repaid, for up to 20 years, in semiannual payments that are structured as a regular line item on the property tax bill. When a property is sold, the PACE assessment stays with the property and transfers to the new owner, who, in turn, enjoys the ongoing utility cost savings associated with the project. Sustainable Real Estate Solutions was competitively selected as the Colorado C-PACE administrator and will oversee an open, competitive lending model that makes it possible for a wide variety of capital providers to participate. All projects will be financed entirely with private funds, allowing local lenders, national banks and PACE capital providers an opportunity to finance projects. “C-PACE provides commercial and industrial building owners with an attractive way to finance capital-intensive building modernization projects. The resulting energy savings typically outweigh the annual assessment payment, thereby enabling cash-flow-positive projects,” said Brian J. McCarter, CEO of SRS. Eligible properties include office, retail, agricultural, nonprofit and industrial buildings; multifamily properties with five or more units; and hotels. Projects must be located in counties that have opted to participate in the program. Boulder County has opted in, and several other counties around the state already have indicated that they plan to participate. Other News The Ignacio Elementary School recently was certified LEED Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council. Ignacio’s prekindergarten through fifth grade elementary school is the second building in a district-wide master plan led by RTA Architects. The master plan included the renovation of three existing school buildings and the design of a new middle school. In the second phase of the master plan, the existing intermediate (grades 4-6) building was renovated into what is now Ignacio Elementary. Existing and new classrooms were designed as flexible learning spaces with enhanced acoustics, day-lighting through tubular day-lighting devices and expansive exterior windows, and the ability to accommodate current and future technology upgrades. The high-performing, sustainable facility also uses a geo-exchange system, a roof-mounted 50 kilowatt photovoltaic array, LED lighting throughout and low-water native plants for landscaping. A survey from the Urban Land Institute, Colorado in 2015: A ULI Survey of Views on Housing, Transportation and Community, reported that a significant number of Colorado residents face barriers to a healthy and active lifestyle due to community design and land-use patterns that make walking, cycling and recreational opportunities difficult. Despite Colorado’s reputation as one of the healthiest states in the nation, 52 percent of the survey’s respondents said that it is too far for them to walk to shopping and entertainment, and 42 percent said that the bike lanes in their communities are insufficient. In addition, 34 percent said that their communities lack outdoor spaces for exercise. The survey identified low-income and Latino residents as the demographic groups most likely to experience these barriers and feel a sense of dissatisfaction with their communities. Nearly half (49 percent) of Latinos reported that their neighborhoods lacked outdoor recreational spaces, compared with 31 percent of white respondents, while 58 percent of Latinos responded that their neighborhoods lacked sufficient bike lanes, compared with 40 percent of white residents. Among respondents making less than $25,000 per year, 47 percent said their neighborhoods lacked outdoor spaces, while 54 percent said more bike lanes are needed in their communities. Among other significant findings in the report related to housing and community choice and satisfaction were: • Millennials in Colorado are more likely to move than the population as a whole, with 70 percent saying a move is somewhat or very likely within the next five years. Twenty-nine percent of Coloradans said they were very likely to move. • Thirty-two percent of Coloradans currently live in the suburbs, but only 22 percent would choose to live there in five years if they could live anywhere. • Renters expressed the highest rate of dissatisfaction with their housing options, with 26 percent saying there were somewhat or very dissatisfied, compared with 15 percent of all Coloradans. Colorado State University completed its latest green parking initiative as part of its vision to remain the greenest university in the U.S. The installation of a sensor-based parking guidance system from Indect USA enhances the LEED-certified garage, which also has been designated a Green Garage Demonstrator by the Green Parking Council. “CSU is committed to sustainability and the Indect sensor program will make a vital contribution to our efforts to make our campus greener,” said Doug Mayhew, associate director of parking and transportation for the university. “By guiding parkers directly to open spaces, the parking guidance system minimizes the amount of time spent searching for parking. The program will also dramatically decrease the amount of vehicle exhaust emitted in the structure and reduce the amount of unnessasary fuel wastage.” The new parking guidance system features the installation of parking sensors in each of the 645 covered spaces and monitors all 870 spaces in the university’s only parking structure. A space indicator light is installed on a dropper at the front of the parking space, offering drivers a clear view of where open spaces can be found and what type of parking is permitted in an individual space. Different colors indicate each space’s status and user group: green for available, red for occupied, blue for handicapped parking and purple for electric vehicle charging stations. The lights are clearly visible to drivers when they enter each level so they can quickly determine if a space is available on that floor. A monument-style sign is installed at each of the garage entries to advise customers of real-time parking availability as they approach the garage. The sensors collect data about length of stay, occupancy and usage for each of the different user groups at the garage, which the university will use to enhance its parking policies and procedures. “CSU’s parking sensor program demonstrates the versatility of single-space sensors,” said Dale Fowler, director of Indect USA. “Sensors are well-known throughout the industry for the parker convenience and management benefits they provide, but the sustainability advantages are just as important. Colorado State University is already recognized as the greenest university in the nation and this program will push that bar even higher.” Colorado State University currently is developing a second parking garage, which also will be equipped with Indect sensors. That garage is slated to open in August.