LEED’s bold green overhaul
After more than 10 years, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is putting out a new LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system.
According to the authors, LEED v5 is more than just...
The sun will heat it
As I have shared before, I grew up in a rural part of California in a farmhouse built in 1913 which was surrounded by 1.5 acres of grapes, oranges, walnuts, and various farm structures....
Where the water goes
People have said to me, “we cannot control our property’s water consumption because we cannot affect what the residents do in their units.” Oh, really? According to EPA’s WaterSense program, 26.7% of all indoor water...
INFOGRAPHIC: Grinding housing into votes
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Landlords rarely escape the machinations of politics. Just how far will tinkering with free markets go this election cycle?
In an election-year effort to shift responsibility for the nation’s high costs of living away...
The tech it is a changin
I do not particularly care for the movie “Pretty Woman”, but I do think it provides an important frame of reference. Specifically, there is a scene in which one rich character uses a cell...
The opportunity in commercial conversions
When I first started in multifamily, I heard an acronym that I admit I had to look up: NIMBY. Not In My Back Yard. As I learned from many conversations with developers, there is...
What will whole building data reveal?
“Don’t be upset by the results you didn’t get for the work you didn’t do.” --Unknown
On January 25, 2024, HUD, the DOE and EPA joined forces in a superhero mashup to sign a joint...
Remembering Earth Day
I know, when people think of U.S. presidents who made significant impacts on the environment, we think of Teddy Roosevelt and the founding of National Parks. We think of Jimmy Carter expanding the national...
Return of the carbon
My office is decorated with comic book figures and movie posters to the point that, during the pandemic when we were all forced to work from home, one customer exclaimed, “you must be working...
One year after winter storm Elliot, our grid problem remains dire
Last year, on the morning before Christmas, just as much of the country was preparing food for a holiday dinner that night or preparing for the next day as they welcomed family and guests...
Shining a light on sustainability
“You cannot manage what you do not measure.” –Peter F. Drucker.
I cannot tell you the number of times I have seen or heard that quote applied to the importance of benchmarking for sustainability. If...
Energy Is Sexy
When I was at Prometheus Real Estate Group, I used to have a bumper sticker outside my office door that said, “Energy is Sexy.” It was a slightly “blue” statement for a corporate office,...
The good stuff is at the bottom
As a child, I loved it when my grandmother would pick my brother and me up for an afternoon playdate. It was the best. My grandmother was indescribably beautiful, exuded love, spread laughter and...
Eat your vegetables!
When my cousin was five, he hated peas. Passionately. I remember one family dinner at my grandmother’s house where he had consumed everything on his plate except a small pile of green peas and...
In 2024, resolve to reduce energy loss
We all start the year with resolutions or goals. Some of these goals may be carried over from the prior year. Some are new. “I am going to save money.” “I am going to...
