How Buildings Can Profit (Instead of Losing) While Complying with NYC’s CMA

Alan Burchell
Proposal Status
Ready for Committee Review
Username
alan burchell
Proposer First Name
Alan
Proposer Email
aburchell@urbanstrong.com
Proposer Last Name
Burchell
Proposer Job Title
founding principal
Proposer Additional Info
Principal of award-winning firm Urbanstrong, Alan Burchell is a professional engineer, LEED-AP, and Green Roof Professional. Urbanstrong works with developers, property managers, and building owners looking to boost property values, reduce energy expenditures, improve occupant health and wellness, reinvest in their building assets, reduce their environmental footprint, and green their brand. Urbanstrong offers consulting, financing, and design-build-maintenance services for living walls, green roofs, and solar-integrated green roofs. As a specialist on green infrastructure, Alan co-founded the non-profit “The NYC Agriculture Collective,” provides regular training for architects, has spoken at the United Nations, appeared on MSNBC, consulted for corporations, nonprofits and municipal governments, and provided expert testimony in court.
Proposed Session Description
New York City’s Climate Mobilization Act (CMA) is viewed by many building owners as a piece of legislation thrust upon them mandating unaffordable retrofits that benefit only the environment at their expense. And for many this will end up being the case. But for those building owners with the right strategy in place, the CMA and impending retrofits can represent the impetus into a highly profitable investment opportunity even for those with little to no access to capital. As of Q2 2021, there will exist in NYC a combination of proven energy efficiency technologies, regulations, programs, innovative ownership/investment models, and specialty financing that together are analogous to planets aligning. The result is a never-before-seen opportunity in NYC for co-ops, condos and other commercial buildings to do much more than just comply with the CMA local laws to avoid fines. Instead, they can now bundle together retrofits and equipment upgrades that appease the city, immediately reduce operating expenses, improve quality of life for residents, and generate a steady passive income…all using somebody else’s money.
Why is this session important?
The CMA has the potential to make a massive positive impact on our city’s ecological footprint and carbon emissions as well as the health and wellness of NYC residents, particularly those in lower income buildings and neighborhoods. This depends however on the how the CMA is perceived. If it continues to be viewed as a financial drain and burden on building owners, perhaps it won’t be around for much longer. But if fully understood and applied comprehensively, the tools baked into the CMA, such as Local Law 96, which grants building owners access to the capital needed to implement the mandated retrofits of LL 92/94 and 97, then the CMA may live up to its potential. This session will open the audience’s eyes to the massive financial potential that now exists for NYC building owners, whether they elect to seize it voluntarily or are forced in that direction anyway. The difference between those who profit and those who feel like they’re stuck picking up the tab will depend on whether they implement the strategies discussed in this session.

Comments

Elihu Dietz Tue, 04/06/2021 - 11:40 pm

Round 1 - Maybe.This is a CMA/CPACE explainer. If there are no other CPACE sessions, this could be good to have. There's a theoretical equity angle. Does anyone know this speaker? 

Susan Farber Mon, 04/12/2021 - 8:51 pm

ROUND 1 DISCUSSION: Pros: Need to get the word out about CMA. Curious about C-PACE. Would be important to bring that in. If C-PACE is brought in then great. Has financing expanded with CMA? If and how electrification influences C-PACE. The challenge of cheap energy. Maybe a Policy session?

Jeannine Altavilla Mon, 05/17/2021 - 9:37 am

Sample Case Studies that could be discussed:case study #1:  the self storage chainclient: a developer and builder of self storage facilities in new york city problem: the client had five buildings in late stage of development when they found out the projects were all going to be subject to NYC Local Law 92/94. They had not budgeted for either a green roof or solar (the two options available under LL92/94). solution: the client was familiar with the cost of green roofs but approached urbanstrong to understand the most cost-effective way to proceed. urbanstrong helped the client understand why a rooftop solar array run through the city's Community Solar program, as offered by a partner firm of Urbanstrong's, would be more appropriate.  our partner org offers two options, a No Investment option and a Full Investment option. given their lack of budget this was a great solution. but once the client saw the proposal's projected cash flows, they were tempted by the ~$2.5M in total net 25-year value they stood to earn.  to help grant the client access to the capital necessary for our solar vendor's Full Investment option, Urbanstrong introduced them to our C-PACE financing lending partners. under NYC Local Law 96, C-PACE financing provides 100% project financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy installations like rooftop solar.  case study #2:  the co-op that wants it allclient: an upper west side manhattan co-op buildingproblem: the president of the co-op board was concerned about the building's aging roof. he was interested in using the opportunity of reroofing to develop the roof in a way that maximizes its full potential but in the most cost-effective manner.solution: a structural engineer is evaluating the roof's capacity and the results will determine what costs of reinforcement, if any, will be necessary for potential development options. after collecting design-building proposals from its vendor partners specializing in green roofing and rooftop solar, urbanstrong walked the client through the cost benefit analysis of developing the roof with either green roofing, solar or an integrated hybrid of the two. (when the two technologies collaborate together, not only can they share system material components to reduce costs, but the cooling effect of the plants keeps the panels operating at a higher electricity production efficiency to boost the solar project's bottom line).  while the return on investment looked attractive for all scenarios, the board president was looking for other ways to reduce the upfront costs.  urbanstrong explained that a C-PACE financing deal could work but the minimum deal size is around $225,000 for lenders to be interested.  so we brought in our energy service company (an ESCO) vendor partner to survey the building top to bottom and identify enough opportunities for energy efficiency upgrades that could be financed with C-PACE to bring the total deal size up to the required minimum.  case study #3:  the co-op/condo/schoolclient: a brooklyn heights building that's part co-op, part condo, part schoolproblem: the board has several different areas of work across their complex property that require intertwined work from multiple trades related to energy efficiency, stormwater management and renewable energy. their amenity space could use a green roof to insulate the floor below and create a lush amenity space. their courtyard is uninspired and currently leaking down into the parking garage below. several of their roofs are very sunny and ripe for solar. and the city is requiring them to install railings on one of their roofs facing a busy avenue.solution:  urbanstrong is going to quarterback the entire project. we will bring in an array of our partner vendors (e.g.: structural engineer, code researcher, green roofers, solar designs, waterproofers, etc.) and coordinate the efforts such that the vendors can share resources, equipment (cranes), permits, structural surveys, and minimize disruption to residents.  for example, we will scrape the existing courtyard materials away down to the structure. a liquid spray-on waterproofing membrane will seal the parking garage roof. the layers of the green roof that will then be laid on top will protect the new membrane from UV degradation, naturally insulate the parking garage, and provide a lush amenity space for residents above.   

Jeannine Altavilla Mon, 05/17/2021 - 9:44 am

Round 2: Yes/Maybe - Alan is a very dynamic speaker (see video) and either a pre-session Q&A submission or on the spot Q&A could be interesting. Is that pre-session prep possible, to help ensure some diverse examples? He is very willing to customize to what would best fit the format we need. PACE has a minimum financing component that is shifting the market to more comprehensive projects. CMA has also somewhat expanded the ability to push for the larger projects instead of just doing one component. I see this angle as beneficial for encouraging collaboration. Urbanstrong isn't the only player in the market who can help coordinate across these different individual projects so even with only Alan leading the discussion I don't think it will seem too sales-pitchy. Alan did mention that the storage client viewed this strategy as a competitive advantage so he had said he would expect hesitancy if we tried to make it a multi-player panel including the client side.

Susan Farber Thu, 05/20/2021 - 2:57 pm

ROUND 2 discussion - Very flexible presenter (almost too flexible). Org brings vendors together to facilitate larger projects. No other speakers, would take and discuss examples from the audience as well as his own case studies. Interesting, compelling speaker. Curator will probably have a lot of work to do to help shape and focus it (think about what WE want the audience to take away). Could this be made to focus more on Local Law 92/94 and financing? Or how the different laws in the CMA can work together for greater impact (maybe with another speaker, or just have the Curator weigh in)?

Diversity and Inclusiveness
Much of this session will focus on equitable access to capital. The optional financing mechanism enabled by NYC Local Law 96, and the relatively new/unknown Community Solar program for host buildings, remove the economic barrier that usually prevents low and moderate income buildings from being able to afford to invest in highly profitable (and impactful) energy efficiency retrofits or renewable energy systems.
Learning Objectives
Learn the benefits of, and differences between, Blue Roofs, Green Roofs, and Integrated Blue-Green-Solar Roofs.
Learn about the benefits of hosting Community Solar program solar farm and understand the massive financial opportunity it presents for all buildings regardless of access to capital.
Learn the benefits of proactively addressing Local Laws 92/94 and 97 together in one cohesive strategy.
Learn how a building project’s eligibility for C-PACE Financing (enabled by Local Law 96) is based on engineering calculations rather than the owners’ credit score. This levels the playing field and finally grants access to capital for lower income buildings who normally can’t afford to invest in energy efficiency retrofits.
Has this session been presented before?
No

NYC 2021 Areas of Focus

Target Audiences Level of Expertise
Level 1 - No prior knowledge needed.
Session Format
Interview or structured conversation among panelists
Collaborative problem-solving session
Lightning Round (several brief idea pitches followed by discussion)
Recommended Length
60-minute session
90-minute session

Strongest Content Connection - NYC 2021

Reviewer 1
Sosa, Ariel
Reviewer 2
Cooper, Jeannine
Curator
Ziv, Dorit
Proposal #
116
Session #
201
Committee Decision
Accepted