Colorado Real Estate Journal - December 17, 2014
It has been a monumental year for commercial building efficiency in Denver. In addition to the growth of Denver 2030 District, the city implemented numerous initiatives, working groups and policies – including the City Energy Project, Colorado Property Assessed Clean Energy financing and an upcoming switch to the IECC 2015 building code – all geared toward decreasing the environmental impacts of the built environment while simultaneously increasing the city’s economic development. Serving as the conduit to these programs and incentives is Denver 2030 District, which is closing out a year of growth and support. As of December, the district is comprised of 18.3 million square feet of downtown commercial real estate, or 44 buildings represented by 21 property management companies. These managers are supported by eight professional stakeholders and eight community stakeholders, each offering either a unique, exclusive benefit to building managers or working with the district to increase the collective knowledge of efficiency strategies in commercial buildings. The 2030 goals for existing buildings are a 50 percent reduction in energy use, water use and transportation-related emissions by 2030. For new construction, the goal is an immediate 60 percent reduction in energy use and an i m m e d i a t e 50 percent reduction in water use and transportation related emissions, moving to net zero by 2030, all in aggregate. The Denver 2030 District members and stakeholders now have a primary source of contact in the organization’s new executive director, Chad Riley. Riley, previously of Living City Block, is a pioneer in district-scale building efficiency. Moreover, with an in-depth knowledge of energy efficiency finance, strategies and property management, the board is confident in his abilities to bring the organization to the next level. The nationwide 2030 Districts Network also will support Riley. The coalition of the seven charted districts – Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Stamford, Connecticut, and Denver – is constantly working to leverage the nearly 150 million sf committed to the 2030 goals in order to forge partnerships with national suppliers of sustainability technologies and services. Among these benefits are discounted electric vehicle charging stations, building analytics platforms for real-time energy monitoring, and efficiency financing vehicles to ensure that higher-impact/higher cost projects can be implemented. Despite these developments, many may still ask why this matters to Denver. Simply put, because building efficiency equals economic development. By driving down operating expenses (energy and water consumption) and reducing emissions, Denver 2030 District is decreasing the cost of doing business in Denver while improving the high quality of life that draws national and regional companies to relocate or stay in the Mile High City. As we head into 2015, Denver 2030 District would like to thank all of our members for their support. We are excited to continue to work to keep Denver on the short list of the most sustainable, desirable cities in the country.