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Page 32 — Multifamily Properties Quarterly — August 2017
Since 1996, LAI Design Group has been involved in a
variety of housing projects ranging from 3 to 100 units
per acre. These solutions include high end luxury urban
living, mixed-use projects and master planned
community environment strategies.
For more information on
Real Estate Development Solutions contact us
REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT
• Recreation & Clubhouses
• Multifamily
• Mixed-Use
• Community Design
• Hospitality & Resort
• Industrial & Logistics Parks
• Visual Media & Marketing
MARKET SECTORS
E lectric vehicles and hybrids
comprise only about 2 per-
cent of auto sales in the U.S.
today, but it is predicted
that 54 percent of all cars
worldwide will be electric by 2040,
according to a new report from
Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Such a dramatic shift in the global
auto market will have enormous
benefits for the climate, especially
as renewable energy sources pro-
vide a greater percentage of the
electricity required to recharge the
vehicles’ batteries. When a third of
cars are electric, around 8 million
barrels of transportation fuel per
day would be displaced, the report
said.
On July 5, Volvo became the
first mainstream automaker to
announce a phase out of traditional
petroleum-powered vehicles in
favor of EVs. Starting in 2019, all
new Volvo models will be hybrids
or pure electrics. Most carmakers
expect the share of electric vehicles
sold to grow rapidly as the tech-
nology improves, prices fall and
public charging stations become
more common. Rapid advances in
self-driving technology will boost a
transition to battery power, because
it is easier to link the software to
electric motors.
The cost for the lithium-ion bat-
teries used to power EVs is falling
much faster than expected thanks
to improving technology and
increased supply. Batteries are the
most expensive component in an
EV and the cost already has come
down 73 percent on a per kilowatt
basis since 2010. This means elec-
tric cars will not
only be cleaner
than petroleum-
powered vehicles
but also cheaper in
most countries —
as early as 2025.
“Range anxiety”
has limited electric
vehicle adoption,
but new cars like
the Chevy Bolt and
the Tesla Model 3
can travel over 200
miles on a single
charge. EVs with shorter ranges can
still be used for 95 percent of day
trips in the U.S. Most people drive
less than 30 miles in any given day.
• More charging infrastructure is
needed. To accommodate the shift
to electric transportation, charg-
ing infrastructure will need to be
available at highway stops, on city
streets and in garages.
To meet the expected future
demand for charging stations in
multifamily housing developments,
it is less expensive to install con-
duit for the stations with each new
development than to retrofit later.
Green building codes in Boulder
and Denver require that a certain
amount of new parking spaces are
prepared for charging stations.
• Grants and tax credits are available.
To improve air quality and encour-
age EV sales, Colorado offers some
of the most generous programs to
encourage electric vehicle growth
in the U.S. A $5,000 state tax credit
may be combined with a federal tax
credit of up to $7,500 per car. Local
group-buy programs have further
reduced the selling price for many
models and Xcel Energy recently
offered a $10,000 rebate on Nissan
Leafs.
The Regional Air Quality Council
and Colorado Energy Office operate
a joint grant program to support
the installation of charging stations
throughout the state. Charge Ahead
Colorado grants of up to $6,260 are
available for the installation of a
dual-port Level 2 station. The next
two grant rounds are scheduled for
Sept. 15-Oct. 15 and Jan. 15-Feb. 15,
2018.
And, there’s more funding on the
way from the Volkswagen Diesel-
gate settlement. VW agreed to
settle allegations that it violated
the federal Clean Air Act by sell-
ing diesel vehicles with software
that allowed them to cheat on air
pollution tests. To make amends,
VW will spend $2 billion on public
charging stations and hydrogen
fueling equipment over the next 10
years. Denver was chosen as one
of 11 cities that will receive extra
funding.
The state of Colorado already
received a separate stipend of
$68 million from VW to spend on
charging infrastructure and to
replace fossil fuel vehicles with
cleaner vehicles. The Colorado
Department of Public Health and
Environment will oversee spend-
ing of the state’s settlement
money. The department requested
project proposals for the first
round of funding, but has not yet
announced awards.
CDPHE likely will spend 15 per-
cent (over $10 million) of the settle-
ment money on expanding the
state’s electric vehicle infrastruc-
ture. That’s enough to build 60 DC-
fast charging stations along Colora-
do’s major highways. They also may
use the money to electrify heavy-
duty vehicles, such as buying up to
125 new electric buses. Some of the
money could be funneled into exist-
ing programs, like the Charge Ahead
Colorado grant program.
Amenities
Kathy Pitts
Regional manager,
Verdek LLC,
Denver
Kathy Pitts
Standard Level 2 charging stations deliver
240 volts of electricity to a battery and pro-
vide vehicles with 10 to 20 miles per hour
of charge, which is the appropriate level for
multifamily housing, office parks and other
places where cars typically are parked for
two to six hours at a time.