From: SF Gate

'Cash for Caulkers' law would lend hand to all

Bill Burnett, Kevin Burnett

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

We receive dozens of e-mails each week. Many of them are grist for our mill - questions from readers asking us to weigh in on a particular home problem. Then there's the junk.

Merchants from China, India and parts unknown inundate us with solicitations to meet our plastic molding needs or to sell us grosses of screws. We also get inquiries from heaven knows where asking if we can sell people anything from toilets to drywall. Needless to say, we hit the delete key.

But the other day, while sifting through the crud, one e-mail grabbed and held our interest.

It informed us that on May 6, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR5019 by a vote of 246-161. Big deal, we thought. On further review we found the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 pays people to improve their homes. This is the "cash for caulkers" program that President Obama spoke of in his inauguration address and has been floating around in the congressional ether for the past year or so.

The program, also known as Home Star, is designed to spur home energy retrofits by providing rebates to homeowners who install energy-saving products, such as insulation, windows, doors and heating systems.

The legislation must still pass the Senate and be signed by President Obama to become law.

It includes two tracks. The Silver Star program will provide homeowners with a 50 percent rebate, up to $3,000, for the installation of specific energy-saving improvements, including insulation, duct sealing, energy-efficient windows, doors and water heaters. Homeowners receive up to $1,500 per improvement - capped at a total of $3,000 or 50 percent of the total project cost. So replacing half a dozen single-pane aluminum 1960s-vintage windows with $3,000 worth of modern, energy-efficient windows will get you $1,500.

The Gold Star program rewards homeowners who conduct a comprehensive energy audit and implement a full complement of measures to reduce energy use throughout the home. These folks can receive up to $8,000 for implementing retrofits that reduce energy use by 20 percent. The bill also creates an innovative financing program to assist with the cost.

One of the more remarkable aspects of this story is the coalition that came together to support it. The House vote was bipartisan and there are two Republican co-sponsors in the Senate (Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina). Also, there's a huge list of businesses big and small that support it.

Democrats like it, Republicans like it, consumers like it and business likes it. What's not to like?

No matter who you are, if you live in this country, Home Star means a few simple benefits:

Economic boost: The legislation means job creation, increased sales of home improvement materials and innovation in the energy-efficiency sector.

Reduced pollution: Each time a home becomes more energy efficient we have a little less need to build a coal plant in your state. Fewer coal plants means healthier air, right?

Increased security: Energy efficiency, in the long run, means more use of our own domestic supply of energy. Which means, ideally, less conflict over fossil fuels.

We encourage you to read the bill, which is long but surprisingly understandable. You can find it at http://links.sfgate.com/ZJRJ.

The White House has put together a fact sheet. It can be found at http://links.sfgate.com/ZJRH.

To keep abreast of the bill's progress, go to http://links.sfgate.com/ZJRI.

E-mail the Burnett brothers at sweatequity@sfchronicle.com.

From: SF Business Times

Friday, May 28, 2010

Third St. on track
Light rail produces burst of new housing

San Francisco Business Times - by J.K. Dineen

Hundreds of new housing units are springing up at Third and Carroll streets in San Francisco’s Bayview District, evidence that the T-Third light rail is finally pumping new investment to the long-isolated neighborhood.

Construction will wrap up in June on the first two buildings of Holliday Development’s 5800 Third St., a $75 million 140-unit condo development that includes a 15,000-square-foot Fresh & Easy grocery store. Down the block at 5600 Third St., Bridge Housing is finishing up the 124-unit Armstrong Place townhomes, below market rate for-sale units, as well as an affordable 116-unit senior apartment complex. Those projects should also finish in June. Together those projects represent a $101.2 million investment, according to Bridge Housing.

Meanwhile, Holliday has reached a deal with the nonprofit Delancey Street Foundation to open a Crossroads Cafe in another retail space at 5800 Third St., similar to the restaurant the group runs in the South Beach neighborhood. Delancey Street owns a 300,000-square-foot training facility and warehouse that sits between the Bridge Housing project at the Holliday complex.

“You’re looking at 1,000 people moving into this block in the next year. And a grocery store. And a Crossroads Cafe. This place will be radically different than it is today,” said Rick Holliday, president of Holliday Development.

Construction delays

The $667 million T-Third, which opened in April 2007, was supposed to jump start transit-oriented workforce housing along Third Street. A deep recession and housing crash stalled some of the construction projects that were in the works, while others never got off the ground due to a complicated and controversial planning process along the line.

The previous developer of 5800 Third St., Noteware Development, walked away from the project and eventually declared bankruptcy. The original contractor on the project, Thompson Pacific Corp., left behind more than $10 million in liens and has since had its contractor’s license suspended, according to the Contractors State License Board. Noteware’s equity partner, Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, brought in Holliday to fix the broken project.

The 5800 Third St. project is the first two buildings of a 340-unit, four-building redevelopment of a former Coca-Cola bottling plant site. Holliday said they are close to selling part of the property to the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency for $7.5 million. The agency is working with nonprofits to develop a senior center and 121 units of affordable senior housing.

Olson Lee, housing director for the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, said they would probably close on the acquisition of the 5800 Third St. property in July.

“Putting a senior center on a ground floor next to a grocery store and across from a light rail station was an opportunity we could not pass up,” said Lee.

Need for grocery

In addition, Fresh & Easy, owned by the British supermarket conglomerate Tesco, is in contract to buy their space at 5800 Third St. for $7.5 million. Originally they had planned to lease the space, but are now looking to take advantage of depressed real estate prices and buy up their U.S. locations.

“A grocery store was such a big need in the Bayview,” said Bridge Housing President Cynthia Parker. “It’s starting to get to the scale where it can support a midsized grocery store. You have got to believe this is an indication that there is a real transformation taking place.”

The for-sale part of the Bridge project, designed by David Baker + Partners, is about 50 percent sold. The townhomes range in price from $175,000 to $345,000 and are affordable to households earning 60 to 120 percent of area median income. It has been attracting quite a few single parents with children, Parker said.

“It was created with a nice unique courtyard setting with a playground. You could live in one of these homes, be cooking dinner in a beautiful big kitchen … and look out window and watch your kids play,” said Parker. “It’s ideally suited for families.”

The 5800 Third St. project is right across the street from the Carroll Street T-Third stop station. The two buildings have three secure landscaped courtyards with barbecue pits, a bike lounge and dog washing station. Pricing on the units is still being calculated but will be less than $400 a square foot. The range will be low $300,000 for one bedrooms to high $500,000s for the three-bedroom, three-bath 1,800-square-foot units. The units have underground parking spots and for the first two years after purchasing a unit, early buyers will get a second parking spot in an a secure outdoor lot.

Holliday said they have lowered target prices 20 percent since taking over the development in October 2008. The sales office will open in late June when construction is done.

“It’s close enough to downtown being on the Third Street line you can feel the city coming to you in the next three to five years,” said Holliday. “It’s what Dogpatch felt like to me 10 years ago. You’re on the forefront of where the city is changing and you own it.”

> Read More

From: Greentech Media

MARK BOSLET: MAY 24, 2010

A week ago, California Attorney General Edmund Brown dashed off a worried letter to federal officials defending California’s PACE financing for home energy retrofits.

A week earlier, government lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released a vague lenders’ notice apparently critical of the innovative program. Brown worried that the notice could derail efforts to expand the Property Assessed Clean Energy financing to 28 million Californians by September.

Now the dispute is the subject of discussions in Washington, with efforts to remaking the energy profile of the nation’s homes hanging in the balance.

The low-interest PACE loans allow homeowners to borrow for home energy-efficiency improvements, including solar installation, and repay the loans over 20 years. The government raises the money by selling bonds. The repayments are added to property tax bills and the 20-year loans stay with homes when they are sold.

This final feature is what alarmed Fannie and Freddie. Would the liens keep the two lenders from underwriting mortgages for the properties, especially if the energy remodel didn’t translate into higher property values? Participating homes would have higher tax bills than other comparable properties. Wouldn’t they be at a disadvantage in the market place?

Apparently, the dispute is being hashed out among housing officials in Washington. Their decision, however, will have an impact beyond California, as states such as New York, Colorado and New Mexico are moving ahead with the program.

In California, PACE has already proved its popularity. In Sonoma County alone, 800 solar and other projects have soaked up $30 million in financing. Energy remodelers say that along with President Obama’s HOMESTAR energy retrofit initiative now moving through Congress, PACE should spark a boom in business. And it should cut energy use at homes and businesses -- which constitute about 40 percent of the nation’s demand.

Solar installers, however, are embroiled in an argument over PACE with retrofitters. Under most PACE regulations, it is not easy to finance solar installations, a provision that doesn't sit well with the solar industry. Some companies, such as SolarCity, are combining retrofitting and solar installation, but today the two industries largely inhabit parallel universes.

> Read More

From: SF Gate

Robert Selna, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, May 21, 2010

Median resale home prices in the Bay Area rose 30 percent in April compared with the prior year, in a market that featured fewer foreclosures and more activity in higher end neighborhoods, according to a real estate report released Thursday.

Meanwhile, the total number of homes resold in the Bay Area - that is, not newly constructed - fell slightly year-over-year as the higher-priced sales activity could not offset declines in the more affordable areas, according to data analyzed by MDA DataQuick, a San Diego real estate research firm that produces monthly market updates.

"There were more transactions on the higher end, and even the low end is seeing a different type of sale," said Andrew LePage, a DataQuick analyst. "Those homes are not the vacant foreclosure with the foot-high grass growing; it's more likely the owner is living in the house and trying to work out something that does not destroy their credit."

The decline in foreclosures follows a trend over the past few months and, in some part, may reflect the impact of federal government programs that have encouraged lenders to modify loans and facilitate short sales - in which banks allow houses to be sold for less than, or short of, what is owed on the mortgage.

A total of 5,283 existing homes changed hands in the Bay Area in April, which was about 225 fewer than in April 2009. Their median price was $400,000, up 30 percent from the prior year's $307,434.

The mix of transactions shows that foreclosures - the April sales of homes that lenders had foreclosed on in the prior 12 months - made up 29.5 percent of the Bay Area resale market, the lowest since May 2008 and down from 46.4 percent year-over-year.

At the same time, middle- and higher-priced areas saw more action. Thirty-five percent of all homes sold in the Bay Area were priced at $500,000 or higher, up from 27 percent a year ago.

According to DataQuick, high-end sales would have been more robust if financing for larger loans was easier to obtain.

Mortgages above the conventional conforming loan limit of $417,000 comprised nearly 60 percent of all Bay Area home purchase loans before the credit crisis struck in August 2007, the research firm reported. Last month, loans of more than $417,000 made up just 31.6 percent.

Loan brokers say that while banks are offering the bigger loans, they are demanding more proof that a borrower can pay.

> Read More

From: Builder Online

By: NAHB Research Center

In 2005, the NAHB created the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines as a way to capture the essential principles of green home building and provide its members and affiliates with a basis for creating their own local green initiatives. The guidelines represented a “snapshot in time” and were never intended to be the enduring definition of what “green” means in residential construction.

As interest in and scrutiny of green building grew, the NAHB and ICC embarked upon a journey to create a consensus-based industry standard for green home building that was rigorous, flexible, and could be used as a basis for a national green home certification platform. The result of this effort was the ICC-700 2008 National Green Building Standard, approved by ANSI in January 2009. The Consensus Committee that developed the standard used the NAHB guidelines as a springboard for its discussion and planning, but ultimately developed criteria for the standard that exceeded those in the guidelines both in performance and scope. Following the ANSI development process also allowed the document to have a built-in mechanism for regular updates and public comment, unlike the guidelines.

In January 2008 the guidelines were used as the green rating system for the national certification program in anticipation of the standard becoming available shortly thereafter.

The NAHB and the NAHB Research Center have concluded that, now that the standard is available, certification to the guidelines is creating significant confusion in the marketplace and among policy makers. Furthermore, the standard, which is based on the IECC 2006 for the energy-efficiency practices, is more relevant as an above-code green rating system than the guidelines. For these reasons, certification to the guidelines will sunset, and the NAHB Research Center will not accept any rough verification reports for certification to the guidelines after June 1, 2010, nor any final verification reports for certification to the guidelines after Sept. 1, 2010. There will be no changes in the certification protocols for certification to the standard.

> Read More

From: JetsonGreen

By Preston Koerner | May 13, 2010 | topics: Energy Efficiency, Green Tech

Announcements from LightFair this week lit up the news world. Lighting Science Group introduced cheap 40-watt and 60-watt replacement Definity LEDs, while Philips unveiled a brighter, more expensive 60-watt replacement EnduraLED. Not content with sitting the sidelines, Osram Sylvania today announced a bright 60-watt replacement LED that outputs 810 lumens.

Thus, Osram Sylvania claims they have the brightest LED replacement light on the market for old school 60-watt incandescent bulbs.

The Sylvania Ultra LED A-line 12-watt bulb is a second-generation retrofit product and has an estimated life of 25,000 hours. The bulb has a color temperature of 2700k and a color rendering index of 90.

When comparing LED lighting, there's a lot of information to consider. If possible, you'll want to test the lighting, but also check out this Lighting Facts Label to help understand the numbers.

The Osram Sylvania LED is dimmable, contains no mercury, and will be available for purchase late August 2010. No word yet on pricing, but, according to Gadgetwise, the company says affordability is paramount.

From: SF Business Times

San Francisco Business Times - by Mark Calvey

Despite low mortgage rates and a new state tax credit, uncertainty still stalks the Bay Area housing market as potential home buyers worry about the strength of the economic recovery.

The $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers and another for move-up buyers both expired on April 30, but California stepped up with a $10,000 tax credit for eligible home buyers that kicked in May 1 and runs through year-end.

Couple that with mortgage rates near a half-century low, and April home sales in the Bay Area rose 5.9 percent from a year ago and the median price rose 7.2 percent to $583,280, according to the California Association of Realtors.

“The high-end of the housing market is really driven by confidence,” said Tom Biss, an agent with Sotheby’s International Realty in San Francisco, which is among the nation’s strongest housing markets. Europe’s financial crisis is spurring stock market volatility and giving potential home buyers pause, especially those with substantial money in stocks.

Statewide, municipalities with the biggest jumps in median price were the East Bay cities of Richmond, up 63.2 percent, and Pittsburg, up 56.7 percent, from a year ago. The gains likely reflect fewer foreclosure sales and more homes selling at the higher end of the market as tax credits boosted buying activity.

“It’s likely that the state tax credit that went into effect May 1 created an incentive for many buyers to postpone closing escrow so they could take advantage of both the state and federal tax credits that were available,” said Steve Goddard, president of the California trade group. “We should see the pace of closed sales edge up in May and June as these tax-incentivized transactions close.”

Some Bay Area real estate agents said foot traffic remained brisk this week, but that home buyers were seeking good deals.

“My clients want value. We’re negotiating hard,” said Christopher Stafford, a broker associate at Paragon Real Estate Group in San Francisco. He said one of his clients recently purchased a Mission district condo for $1 million, down 13 percent from its asking price earlier this year. Stafford said the federal tax credit was not a big motivator for his clients. Tax credits were more significant to buyers in lower-cost housing markets beyond the Bay Area.

Still, San Francisco’s housing prices seem to be rebounding from a year ago. The latest figures from the S&P/Case-Shiller’s composite index of 20 cities revealed that San Francisco enjoyed the greatest rebound of all 20 cities from a year ago, with home prices up 16.2 percent.

Nationally, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgages for home purchases, as measured by its weekly purchase index, remained in freefall in the week ended May 21, reaching the lowest level in more than a decade.

> Read More

From: Sustainablog.com

by GUEST on JUNE 3, 2010

Today’s article is a guest post from Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, one of the authors of respected sustainability resource Sustainablog.org.

In his post, Jeff talks about how sustainable living and affordable housing are connected. To me, this has enormous implications, not only for lowering the impact we have on our environment, but in raising the standards and expectations for quality of life for lower-income residents in cities here in North America, and worldwide.

Jeff mentions 5 development projects in the US that could serve as the spearhead for a new way to approach publicly funded housing in North America; a way to make life better for those living there, as well one that benefits our environment. Take a look …

***

The phrase “low-income housing” probably doesn’t bring a lot of positive associations to mind: “functional” at best, “low rent” (with all the accompanying connotations) at worst. While the tenements of the mid-20th century have largely given way to smaller multi-family buildings, or even single-family homes in some cases, you likely don’t expect such buildings to come with much in the way of premium features. And “green” is still a premium. Right?

Actually, green makes a lot of sense for affordable housing developments. People in need of subsidized housing won’t get very far in terms of lifting themselves out of poverty if the money saved on lower rents ends up going towards utility bills. Efficiency features that make the most of energy and water, and renewable installations that provide a reliable power supply (even if it’s not 100%) not only lighten the environmental footprint of new and existing developments, but also provide ongoing cost savings for residents. Investments in these features by public housing agencies and non-profits could better serve their missions to give people a “hand up” towards economic stability.

A number of housing authorities around the US get it. And, they are building new developments, or renovating old ones, with “green” in mind. Here are 5 projects that have recognized the long-term benefits of more sustainable development models, and most see it as central to larger urban revitalization:

1. Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Silver Gardens: Opened just last week, the developers of Silver Gardens (pictured above) set out for LEED Platinum status from the outset. Green features include a rainwater collection system and underground cistern, energy-efficient appliances, low-E windows, water-saving plumbing features, low and no-VOC finishes and paints, and close proximity to mass transit. A part of Alburquerque’s Downtown Revitalization Plan, developers funded the project, in part, by the sale of carbon credits that will be generated from the complex’s energy savings. Jetson Green* has more images of the project.

[*Ed: You can follow Jetson Green on Twitter at @jetsongreen]

2. Jackson, Mississippi’s North Midtown Neighborhood development: This one’s just broken ground, but, when completed, will be the first solar-powered affordable housing project in the state. The sixteen units of housing are part of a larger neighborhood redevelopment project, and the renewable energy systems will be complemented with thermal windows, ENERGY STAR-rated appliances, on-demand gas water heating, and even Smart metering.

3. Denver, Colorado’s Denver Gardens Apartments: An existing project for low-income senior citizens, local non-profit Community Housing Concepts* developed a plan for improving the building (and maintaining its status as affordable housing). Renovations included over $1 million in sustainability features, including solar power, efficient appliances, lighting and windows, and complete rehabs of the the kitchens and baths.

[*Ed: Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, who is behind this development can be followed on Twitter @CHFA]

4. The Bronx, New York City’s Intervale Green: Located in the South Bronx, once famous for its blight, Intervale Green is a project of the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDCO*). Designed for ENERGY STAR Multifamily certification, the building features a green roof, 85% efficient boilers, and specially-approved lower exhaust ventilation (based on the claim that current codes require over-ventilation of buildings).

[*Ed: You can follow WHEDCO on Twitter @WHEDCO]

5. Compton, California’s Casa Dominguez: A project of low-income housing developer Abode Communities, Casa Dominguez not only features green building features such as blown-in insulation made from recycled materials, greywater systems, and prefabricated framing, but also hosts an onsite clinic, child care center, and counseling service to reduce transportation needs of residents.

While the growth of sustainable building practices means that prices should eventually come down for all, it’s good to see that both public and non-profit private entities recognize that efficiency and light impacts are smart investments… for the environment, as well as community development and family support.

Know of a green affordable housing project not mentioned here? Share it with us!

***

A former English professor, Jeff McIntire-Strasburg is a certified “old-timer” in the green blogosphere: he started the long-running sustainability blog, sustainablog in July, 2003, and is still at it. He’s also a co-founder of Green Options Media, a former writer at Treehugger, and a current contributor to the Sundance Channel’s SUNfiltered blog.

Sustainablog now hosts a green products marketplace. Lower your own carbon footprint (and utility bills) with our selection of ENERGY STAR-rated appliances.

Read more: Green Low-Income Housing: 5 Developments Making Eco-Friendly Living Affordable | Green Building News and Views

From: SF Business Times

San Francisco Business Times - by J.K. Dineen

The new Presidio Landmark apartments in San Francisco bring SoMa-style highrise amenities to the trails, surf and tranquility of a national park.

The question is whether renters will pay a downtown luxury premium for a rustic setting on the edge of the Inner Richmond district.

Forest City is betting that they will. The developer is gearing up to open its $71 million, 154-unit Presidio Landmark in July, the long-awaited transformation of the old 220,000-square-foot U.S. Public Health Service Hospital, which closed in 1981.

The pricing of the apartments is aggressive: The six-story building’s third and fourth floors will be released first, and asking rates on junior one-bedrooms, which weigh in at 500 square feet, will be $2,125 a month. Full one-bedrooms, most of which are about 850 square feet, will average $2,875 a month. And two-bedrooms, which range in size from 1,000 square feet to 1,500 square feet, will average $4,325 a month. Parking will be $150 a month for an outdoor spot, and $200 a month for a space in the underground garage.

Pac Heights prices?

In calculating asking rents, Forest City first looked at rental comps in neighborhoods like Pacific Heights and Russian Hill, as well as rentals available in top condo buildings like the Infinity. They then factored in a premium for the amenities in the building: yoga studio, fitness center, New York-style doorman, courtyard fire pit, private dining room, chef’s kitchen, bamboo-enclosed outdoor hot tub and wine tasting room.

And then there were the intangibles. How much is it worth to live in a national park with Baker Beach a 10-minute walk in one direction and Clement Street’s restaurants a quick jaunt in the other?

It was an inexact science, said Forest City Vice President Alexa Arena.

“It’s hard to calculate on a per square foot basis. In Russian Hill or Pacific Heights rarely would you get the amenities or the park setting,” said Arena.

The Presidio has a 98 percent occupancy rate for its 1,150 housing units, about 3 percent higher than city averages. Rents dipped slightly in the recession but not as much as other neighborhoods, said Craig Middleton, executive director of the Presidio Trust.

“There are no comps that are a real comp,” said Middleton. “How many places can you live in a national park, see the ocean and walk out your back door to the beach? It is a quality of life that is difficult to quantify.”

Part of self-sufficiency

The current construction and future projects are all part of meeting a legislative mandate that requires the Presidio to become financially self-supporting by 2013. Developing and leasing properties are a key part of meeting that requirement. The park contains 768 buildings, both residential and commercial, and has completed several ventures in the last five years.

Forest City started construction 18 months ago in the midst of the Great Recession, but it persevered.

“Everything is going through economic cycles but at the end of the day you just don’t have opportunities to have a building like this in a national park,” said Arena. “It felt like the right package, the right positioning, the right opportunity within the context of the Presidio to feel confident.”

The LEED gold building on the park’s southern border is about one-third junior one bedrooms, one-third one bedrooms, and one-third two bedrooms. Most of the building consists of one bedrooms because the Presidio now has just 10 one-bedrooms. The project was designed by Perkins + Will and built by Plant Construction, the team that did the Ferry Building.

Arena said there is no hurry to lease the apartments.

“It’s a long-term hold and that is how Forest City is structured. We always pick investments that work over the long term because we are an owner and developer and manager. So we are not going to rush to lease it as quickly as possible. We are going to make sure it is positioned in a way that makes it valuable and a great place over the life of the project. We are not going to go on a fire sale.”

Designed for athletes

The project originally called for 350 units, but was scaled back to appease neighboring residents, who worried about the traffic and parking issues. Middleton said the project benefitted from downsizing as it allowed the building’s non-historical blue wings to be removed.

> Read More

In recent times, building owners have been holding back from selling hoping that prices will improve to previous levels seen in 2006 and 2007. However, it is apparent that no such improvement is going to happen in the near future. Thus, if capital is strongly required by the owners, real estate sales will take place today at a 20% to 30% discount from previous highs.

Most institutional property owners—especially colleges and universities, hospitals and town and county governments—are seeing sources of income decline significantly in the current market.

If capital is required for construction or renovation while fundraising and tax and income revenue streams are declining—while at the same time institutional lending has dropped significantly—there’s little hope for addressing the immediate needs of the organization.

Green Key's client and its international private equity investors structure purchase and sale-leaseback deals on properties in the following classes: commercial; office; medical; higher education; town and county government; mixed-use; and, industrial.

Green Key's client’s private equity investors and international real estate investment trust partners are discovering opportunities for long-term investment appreciation in markets across the U.S. and world. These are long-term investors who seek to purchase commercial, governmental, educational and professional properties at or near current appraised values.

The sale-leaseback option including the option of sale-leasebacks, our client wishes to evaluate qualifying properties and, in the case of those properties that meet its criteria, to finalize offers within 15 days in most cases.

ACQUISITION CRITERIA

Credit Rating: AAA through Unrated

TRANSACTION TYPES:

Sale-leaseback; acquisition from third parties or build-to-suit; development funding for investment-grade tenants; forward commitments to purchase at completion for non-investment-grade tenants.

LEASE STRUCTURE:

Double-net, triple-net, or bondable lease.

TERM:

10 years minimum remaining term (prefer 15 years or longer).

RENTS:

Initial rents at or below local real estate market; stepped with periodic fixed increases; renewal rents fixed up-front in some cases.

TRANSACTION SIZE:

$10 million minimum; $1 billion maximum.

As the economic requirement allows, new buildings will be built or expanded. With many of the government tax and subsidy benefits in green building, we have formed a joint venture with a building material company that supplies a natural indoor/outdoor wall panel with features geared to maximize green, safety, insulation, wind resistance and fireproofing standards.

Please contact me for more information.

Chris Bartle
chris@greenkeyrealestate.com