Southern California Office Real Estate Blog

BRAVO! LEED v3.0 LOOKS AT THE BIG PICTURE IN GREEN BUILDINGS + LETS YOU LOOK TOO

October 28, 2009 on 12:20 am | In Green, PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, Solutions, Uncategorized, all | 5 Comments

VO! LEED v3.0 LOOKS AT THE BIG PICTURE IN GREEN BUILDINGS + LETS YOU LOOK TOO

By Jodi Summers

LEED v3.0 – the U.S. Green Building Council’s latest green buildings rating system, has a brave new focus – saving energy on the long term.

“This version reflects the rapid advancements in building science and technology and provides incentives for strategies that have greater positive impacts on energy efficiency and CO2 emissions reductions, among other priorities,” notes treehugger.com.

Known around town as LEED 2009, what’s piquing the interest of the saving-money-thru-green-minded is a new requirement that focuses on facility maintenance during the life span of the building. The new rules mandate that energy and water usage for buildings seeking LEED certification now has to be reported for at least five years.

“One of the major differences with the new rating system is that sharing and reporting this energy use data is now required, as it was optional in the previous rating system,” observed property manager Michael Martz.

USGBC will allow projects to comply with the requirement in any of three ways:

1. To renew LEED certification every two years using LEED for Existing Buildings: Operation and Maintenance.

2. Provide energy and water usage data for the building on an ongoing basis annually.

3. The owner of the property authorizes USGBC to access the building’s energy and water usage data directly from the building’s utility provider.

With LEED v3.0, the USGBC offers a more savvy point rating system. The LEED rating system is increasing from a total of 69 points to 100 points – with an emphasis on what matters most from an environmental standpoint – energy efficiency and CO2 reductions. It the early days, a building could earn the same number of points for installing a commuter bike rack as optimizing energy by 10% or reducing water usage by 20%. Now credits are weighed based on how the course of action improves environmental and sapient health.

The LEED v3.0 vision also does a superior job of calculating the value of refurbishing the value of existing buildings. LEED v3.0 looks at the BIG picture.

Part of USGBC’s goal is to help owners and operators optimize building performance over the building’s lifetime. LEED v3.0 goes with the theory that collecting data is the best way to identify and help correct the common gap between energy modeling during the design phase and the building’s actual energy usage.

For those already constructing or managing LEED-certified buildings, the new requirements won’t be much of a change. Add-ons to current building systems will increase front-end costs a bit, but the big upside is that owners can now micromonitor energy usage. This investment will offer a significant savings in energy usage over the life of the building.

“They can see when the energy use has peaked, when it’s at the low, when it’s at the mean, and then they can adjust their programs or their overall systems,” explains Martz.

With LEED v3.Going forward, small businesses will be able to monitor their energy usage with the sophistication of institutions that consume a lot of energy, such as universities, skyscrapers and industrial manufacturers.

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http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/leed-30-is-launched.php

http://blogs.nationaltrust.org/preservationnation/?p=525

http://www.socalindustrialrealestateblog.com/?p=407

http://www.usgbc.org/News/USGBCInTheNewsDetails.aspx?ID=2628

http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2009/08/leed_reporting_requirement_goo.html

http://www.constructionweekonline.com/pictures/gallery/Stock/green.buildings.jpg

http://www.eco-structure.com/Images/FBI1_tcm26-123089.jpg

http://www.ischool.washington.edu/lewis-hall/greenbuilding.aspx

http://www.fullscalearchitecture.com/press/wp-content/gallery/trevvett-images/trevvett_02.jpg

http://www.dennislawgroup.com/Green_Building_Laws_LEED.html

http://twgi.com/images/picIAMUenergyChartLarge.jpg

http://movetolakenorman.wordpress.com/2008/10/17/lake-norman-real-estate-leed-certification-may-add-value-to-your-home/

BUILDINGS WORTH VISITING IN LOS ANGLES – THE LAX THEME BUILDING

October 21, 2009 on 12:09 am | In Fascinating Information, Historic Properties, Uncategorized, all | 5 Comments

BUILDINGS WORTH VISITING IN LOS ANGLES – THE LAX THEME BUILDING

By Jodi Summers

When you arrive @ LAX you know you’ve come to someplace interesting. Step outside, and palm trees sway pleasantly in the breeze and then there’s that spaceship like building in the middle. There aren’t a whole lot of other structures in the world that look like the LAX Theme Building. It’s an iconic structure.

Some say the LAX theme building – always a restaurant, now known as the Encounter – was inspired by the early ‘60s cartoon known as the Jetsons. Legend has it that the  LAX theme building building, completed in 1961, (always a restaurant, now known as the Encounter) , was designed to look like a landing spaceship. The Jetsons cartoon – which came along in the 1962-63 television season – was said to be inspired by this building.

“When I first moved here, the LAX Theme Building personified all my East Coast biases about Los Angeles: ephemeral, not serious, and geared to the movies,” recalled architect Brenda Levin. It was cartoony, Jetsony. But I’ve grown to love it as a piece of iconic architecture.”

Meet George Jetson…

The distinctive white building, with 135-foot parabolic arches, is a quintessential example of the Mid-Century modern design school known as “Googie” or “Populuxe.” The LAX tower was designed by a team of architects and engineers headed by William Pereira and Charles Luckman, which also included Paul Williams and Welton Becket.

Entertaining Factoids

 

· The Theme Building was part of an overall $50-million “Los Angeles Jet Age Terminal Construction” project, which began in 1960.

· The theme building itself was completed in August 1961 at a cost of $2.2 million.

· It was the first structure in the U.S. to utilize supporting steel arches of this design.

· Approximately 900 tons of structural steel was required for the building.

·Fabricated sections include four upper arch sections, four lower sections, four horizontal legs, and tension and compression rings.

· The restaurant was remodeled by Disney’s Imagineering team.

· The observation deck has been closed since 9-11.

· Foreigners have been known to call our airport “lax” instead of L-A-X.

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http://www.encounterlax.com/encounter_genesis.htmls

http://unitproj.library.ucla.edu/dlib/lat/display.cfm?ms=uclalat_1429_b474_213214&searchType=keyword&k=airport&w=none&x=title&y=none&z=none&s=1&all

http://www.aaa-calif.com/westways/1007/features/buildingareputation.aspx

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

http://hubpages.com/hub/LAX-Theme-Building

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Themebuildingnight.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98699780@N00/55664381/

Sustainable Industries’ Top 10 Green Building Products of 2009

October 14, 2009 on 12:46 am | In Bravo, Fascinating Information, Green, Investment Opportunities, Recycling, Solutions, Trends, Uncategorized, all | 5 Comments

Sustainable Industries’ Top 10 Green Building Products of 2009

Edited by Jodi Summers

Not to be outdone by other trends, Sustainable Industries magazine has made their choices
for the 2009 Top 10 Green Building Products. These industry-leading green building products
winners were selected by a panel of expert judges and the Sustainable Industries editorial team 
based on their environmental performance, scalability/market impact, innovation,design
aesthetic, value and compatibility with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. 

The 2009 Top 10 Green Building Product winners are:

Acadia Combined Heating and Cooling System

Made by Hallowell International

(www.gotohallowell.com)

The Acadia is not just another heating and cooling system. It maintains 200 percent efficiency even when outdoor temperatures drop well below zero..should global climate change ever affect us that severely. Acadia users can save up to 70 percent of their home heating energy costs.

ec-H20

Made by Tennant Co.

(www.tennantco.com)

Requiring no chemicals, ec-H2O uses tap water to clean most any surface of most any substance. Each machine reduces water usage by 70 to 80 percent, and the potential of 245 million gallons of water each year if it were installed in all new floor-cleaning machines.

InSpire Wall

Made by ATAS International

(www.atas.com)

This simple technology uses the power of the sun to heat outdoor air before sending it indoors, thereby slashing energy use while boosting indoor air quality. Depending on what kind of heating fuel is being replaced, this product can reduce heating costs by up to $5 for each square foot of InSpire Wall installed.

kama EEBS Structural Systems

Made by kama Energy Efficient Building Systems Inc.

(www.kama-eebs.com)

kama EEBS Structural Systems integrate light gauge metal stud framing system with expanded polystyrene insulation in a proprietary design that eliminates thermal bridging and helps to create a tight, energy-efficient building envelope.

PlybooPure Bamboo Plywood

Made by Smith & Fong Co.

(www.plyboo.com)

Because it’s technically a grass, bamboo had not previously been eligible for FSC certification. But in January 2008, after two years of lobbying, Smith & Fong achieved this first that propelled it to recognition on this year’s Top 10 list.

RainTube

Made by GLI Systems Inc.

(www.raintube.com)

This product received more Top 10 nominations than any other product this year. RainTube is a rain gutter filter made of 100 percent post-consumer high-density polyethylene – old milk jugs, in other words. This product is also Cradle to Cradle-certified, meaning that GLI Systems Inc had to develop a Post-Use Recovery Plan that goes out with every product.

Separett Villa

Made by Separett

(www.ecovita.net/villa)

This urine-diverting composting toilet – which is 100 percent PVC fee –uses no water and keeps solids separate from liquids, reducing odor and making it possible to reuse waste and urine for composting and fertilizing. The Separett Villa can be deployed where no plumbing exists, allowing for a greater reach of the technology.

Serious Windows

Made by Serious Materials

(www.seriouswindows.com)

Serious Windows are so efficient they have the potential to allow for the elimination of a building’s heating system, allowing waste heat from building appliances to serve as the main heat source in some applications. The windows have a full-frame R value of at least five and up to 11, which can cut a building’s energy bills by up to 50 percent per month.

Solatube Daylighting Systems

Made by Solatube International

(www.solatube.com)

This patented technology catches direct sunlight and redirects it down an adjustable-length tube, bringing daylight to parts of buildings that would not otherwise have access to natural light. The Vista, Calif.-based company recently launched a product specifically designed for commercial applications, making it ideal for large-roofed warehouses and manufacturing facilities, as well as retail stores and schools – allplaces that have been shown to benefit from increased daylight, as daylight is linked to higher worker productivity, decreased absenteeism and better retail sales.

Your Old Light Fixture

Made by Eleek

(www.eleekinc.com)

Eleek is the only business to make the Top 10 Green Building Products list all four years. Though not a product, Eleek’s lighting restoration service speaks to the important concept of the re-use of existing goods. When Eleek restores a light fixture, every piece of a fixture is taken apart, repaired and restored to its original splendor. Its wiring is updated to comply with modern codes and standards and a new lamp base is installed so it works with energy-efficient lamps such as CFLs and LEDs.

Original article @ http://www.sustainableindustries.com/greenbuilding/49012336.html

SO MANY OFFICE BUILDINGS FOR SALE IN LOS ANGELES

October 7, 2009 on 12:34 am | In Fascinating Office Real Estate Information, Investment Opportunities, Lease Rates, Office Fodder, Statistics, Uncategorized, all | 2 Comments

SO MANY OFFICE BUILDINGS FOR SALE IN LOS ANGELES

By Jodi Summers

Some reports are showing that we have as much as 14% unemployment in California, so incase you were wondering, that’s why the office market sucks a big one these days.

Notice that the number of office properties for sale is up 67% - there are now 150 multiunit properties on the market, while sales are down by 50% - yes only two sold in September.

A recent property analysis by Cushman & Wakefield noted that net absorption of office space totaled negative 1.6 million SF in LA County in the 2nd quarter of 2009 and negative 5.6 million SF year-to-date. FYI, this compares to negative 2.9 million SF in all of 2008.

The freaky thing is that despite the job losses, Los Angeles County continues to maintain one of the lowest office vacancy rates in the nation.

On the investment side, recorded office sales volume of $45.1 million in L.A. County in the second quarter, compared with $245 million the previous quarter and $3.7 billion for the year 2008. The average sale price fell to $171 per square foot in the second quarter, versus $220 per square foot in the first quarter of 2009 and $323 in all of 2008.

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http://www.cityfeet.com/News/NewsArticle.aspx?Id=33884

http://www.clarusresource.com/