OAKLAND, CA-Developers and building owners in Oakland are finding that, with a little help from the city's staff, they can cut costs by millions of dollars.

The City of Oakland is offering free, customized assistance to architects and developers from expert consultants through its Energy Efficiency Design Assistance Program. Through fine tuning their building designs, the developers can save millions of dollars in electricity costs.

The program, which will continue servicing the community until the end of this year, offers project-specific suggestions, ranging from advice on efficient lighting equipment to mechanical systems and glazing.

Most of the projects that are using these services will be able to exceed state-mandated energy-efficient standards by up to 20%, says a city representative.

One satisfied customer is Kevin Greene of Prentiss Properties, which is constructing a 675,000 sf office development called Lakeport Tower. Greene says that the consultants identified measures that would save more than $1.5 million in operating costs over the building's lifespan.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.

Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.