BRA Board Boosts Green Triple Decker Program, Approves Eco-Industrial Zone RFP

Posted by admin in Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS), Energy Efficiency, Green Building | 0 comments

The BRA board last night voted to expand the Green Triple Decker program from 2 to 5 structures, and approved release of a Request For Proposals (RFP) to identifya project manager to administer an eco-industrial zone project in Boston’s Newmarket business district.  The expansion of the Triple Decker project will allow us to better identify energy efficiency best practices in one of Boston’s most historic and culturally signficant housing typologies.  Together with our utility partners and ICF International, we’ll learn more about how to dramatically improve energy performance in both occupied, and unoccupied structures, and how to best balance historic preservation concerns with energy efficiency.

The Newmarket Eco-Industrial Zone project, funded by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Sustainable Skylines program, will provide money saving sustainable business technical assistance to area businesses and fund district scale energy efficiency and renewable energy feasibility studies among other goals.

GreenTech to Launch Green Triple Decker Program

Posted by admin in Energy Efficiency, Green Building | 137 comments

May 20, 10

With support from the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s Inclusionary Development Fund, the GreenTech initiative will soon open applications for an innovative two building pilot program that will provide resources to owners of three story walk up residential buildings in Boston, also known as “triple deckers”, to achieve moderately deep energy retrofit goals.  The program, supported by local utility providers NSTAR and National Grid, and Energy Star provider ICF International, will help develop a model for retrofitting this culturally historic building typology while paying close attention to historic preservation goals.

Focusing our high performance building efforts on triple deckers provides several valuable learning opportunities for City staff engaged in climate change and green economic development work, and residents who share our interest in reducting green house gas emissions and energy expenses.  We can begin to identify the challenges, and opportunities, in conducting moderately deep energy retrofit work in older, historic buildings.  The program also tackles the so called “tenant landlord split”, a nagging challenge in the energy efficiency public policy realm that describes the disconnect landlords have with the energy peformance of their investment, and the disinterest tenants feel in helping to implement energy conservation measures in a building in which they hold no long term interest.  This challenge is particularly acute in Boston where over 60% of residents are renters.  Finally, this project will provide a focused opportunity to explore the intersections between energy efficiency and historic preservation.

Deep energy retrofit work creates tremendous local job creation opportunities, in addition to energy saving for tenants and higher building values for owners. 

Check back soon for more details.