Throughout the nation, developers are embracing greener building methods to promote improved health, lower operating costs and greater resident retention.
Photovoltaics are one key to this transformation. Lisa Kozol, former Director of Real Estate Development at Lawrence CommunityWorks, noted, “Not only are photovoltaics greener, they keep expenses down—which means we don’t have to raise rents.”
BlueHub helped finance the green redevelopment of the Union Crossing Mill, a five-floor mixed-use facility located in the historic mill district of Lawrence, MA. The top three floors of the building had already been transformed into 60 units of affordable rental housing, so BlueHub stepped in to finance the development of the remaining two floors—31,010 square feet—into leasable commercial space.
With a focus on green development practices, the space was built with high-efficiency boilers and HVAC equipment, energy efficient historic windows, and healthy construction materials. In addition, the broad mill roof made Union Crossing a platform for 150 photovoltaic solar panels, offsetting much of the property’s common area electricity annually. When the building was first built, it was powered by renewable, carbon-free water power; today, it gets power from renewable, carbon-free solar power.
