Southern California Industrial Real Estate Blog

ENNACTING GREEN LEGISLATION – MAKING BUILDINGS MORE EFFICIENT

October 22, 2009 on 11:58 am | In FASCINATING INFORMATION, GREEN, Government, Trends, Uncategorized, all | 12 Comments

ENNACTING GREEN LEGISLATION – MAKING BUILDINGS MORE EFFICIENT

By Jodi Summers

So much for our government to do…and high on the list of Republicans and Democrats alike is the greening of existing buildings. In June legislation was approved by the House of Representatives (by a tally of 219-212) to control climate change by limiting heat- trapping pollution and creating a trading system for pollution permits. The bill calls for cutting greenhouse-gas emissions from 2005 levels by 17 percent by 2020, and 83 percent by mid- century.

Think of it as a new world order. Society as we know it will change drastically in the next decade….

To get the United States back on track, policy groups are encouraging President Barack Obama to back a $500 billion plan to make U.S. buildings more energy-efficient.

The Center for American Progress, a research group that advises Democrats, and the Energy Future Coalition, a nonpartisan alliance have united to present a national proposal, which is not unlike California’s 2010 initiative. In a perfect world, the plan would increase the energy efficiency of 40 percent of commercial and residential $1,200 a year in energy costs, while saving businesses significantly more money in utilities.

The policy groups say moving forward with green initiatives is imperative for several reasons.

1. aid the economic recovery

2. increase energy security

3. reduce global warming

“Rapidly improving the efficiency of our existing buildings is essential,” declare both local policy groups.

The proposed funding - $500 billion - would come from a combination of public and private funds, details forthcoming.

The report states, “National policy leadership is required immediately to launch a nationwide energy-efficient retrofit industry.”

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=apuGuQhfFQkQ

http://www.scienceprogress.org/

http://willscullypower.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/online-advertisers-continue-to-battle-with-congress/

http://assembly.state.ny.us/member_files/036/20070130/

http://www.greencollarblog.org/oregon_green_jobs/

http://www.energyfuturecoalition.org/What-Were-Doing/Renewable-Energy-25×25

http://matgiordano.com/blog/?p=81

CALGREEN BUILDING CODE TRANSITIONS INTO EFFECT

October 14, 2009 on 12:09 am | In GREEN, Government, Trends, Uncategorized, all, statistics | 5 Comments

CALGREEN BUILDING CODE TRANSITIONS INTO EFFECT

By Jodi Summers

We always find these to be statistics to think about - buildings account for 39 percent of the energy used in the United States, 71 percent of electricity use, and 39 percent of C02 emission.

Our new CALGREEN Code state building code – which went into effect August 1^st - aims to improve the odds. Adherence to the code is voluntary until 2010, then the provisions are expected to become mandatory.

“It is imperative to expedite the greening of California’s building standards,” Governor Schwarzenegger stated. “As such, I am directing the California Building Standards Commission to work with specified state agencies on the adoption of green building standards for residential, commercial, and public building construction for the 2010 code adoption process.”

State officials say that if all of the green-building measures were enacted, buildings would at least be comparable to the requirements of a silver rating under the LEED standards set by the USGBC.

A recent report by McKinsey & Company notes that the U.S. economy has the potential to reduce annual non-transportation energy consumption by roughly 23 percent by 2020, eliminating more than $1.2 trillion in waste.

By establishing the CALGREEN Code, the California Building Standards Commission

is setting minimum green-building standards that may, at the discretion of any local government entity, be applied. Local governments such as West Hollywood, Santa Monica and Los Angeles have already set up codes that exceed the CBSC standards.

The purpose of the code is to improve public health, safety and general welfare by enhancing the design and construction of buildings through the use of building concepts that have a positive environmental impact, and by encouraging sustainable construction practices in the following categories:

• Planning and design

• Energy efficiency

• Water efficiency and conservation

• Material conservation and resource efficiency

• Environmental air quality

The Governor notes that the CBSC and the other agencies are further developing the framework to include mandatory measures in the 2010 CALGREEN Code. Stakeholder workshops begin March 26, with technical review and public comment scheduled for later in the year. The 2010 version is planned to become effective on January 1, 2011.

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http://www.newsreview.com/chico/content?oid=1052010

http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/electricpowernaturalgas/US_energy_efficiency/

http://www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/green/meetings/brochure090508.pdf

http://www.buildersbook.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=BBI2411A08&Category_Code=97b

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/04/sb_presentations/source/7.htm

SO MANY INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES TO BUY

October 5, 2009 on 4:25 pm | In CHARTS + STATISTICS, FASCINATING INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE INFORMATION, Problems, Uncategorized, all, statistics | 2 Comments

SO MANY INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES TO BUY

By Jodi Summers

How low can it go? Apparently, the industrial market has yet to hit bottom, and experts say it will not do so for another year. The latest bit of information from Torto Wheaton Research indicates that the industrial real estate market will not bottom out till the end of 2010, with demand for industrial space not returning till 2011.

Check out this two-year market snapshot showing the supply vs. demand for industrial Properties in Los Angeles county from September 2007-2009. Notice, that although there are 22% more properties for sale than September 2009, nothing is selling.

Industrial owners are whining about the collapse of this market – there is no business growth and no money to be borrowed.

“Whether or not the recession is over, this year’s peak shipping season is likely to disappoint, making businesses unlikely to consider acquiring new distribution space for some time,” notes the report. “Currently, there are no signs of recovery in the nation’s supply chain. Times remain tough for the ocean shipping industry and for the rail and trucking industries as well, as most major partners are also trying to recover from

the global downturn.”

Industrial prices have already fallen to 10-year lows. Buy if you can. Sell only if you need to.

Has your real estate market stabilized? Email jodi@jodisummers.com to receive a free market report for your LA county neighborhood.