If you ever question the value of green building certification, run a search for press releases touting LEED certification for new projects. I see hundreds of these releases every week. But if you are purchasing a LEED building or space, how can you ensure that it truly is LEED certified? Fidelity National Financial (FNF) created the LEED Project … Continue Reading
Yesterday was tax day. A few unlucky souls will face the prospect of an audit in the coming months. But for the Destiny USA project, the IRS has already announced an audit of the project’s $228 million Green Bonds. If you need background on the Destiny USA story, I would suggest you review the e-book I … Continue Reading
When I first read about the Chesapeake Bay Foundation case, I thought of Peter Moonen. Peter is the Leader of the Sustainable Building Coalition for the Canadian Wood Council. He has been extolling the virtues of wood and green buildings for years. Below, we discuss the benefits and pitfalls of parallam and other engineered wood … Continue Reading
Do you remember Energy Ace? You may recall a series of posts I wrote about the company and it’s LEED guarantee. Today we are checking in with Energy Ace founder Wayne Robertson to get the low down on the LEED guarantee. Chris: Please tell me about your "Green Guaranteed" program. Wayne: Energy Ace created … Continue Reading
I have one last green building legal development to tell you about before I take my hiatus. When people ask me about green building disputes, I tell them that they will arise from three scenarios. A project may not comply with regulatory requirements — i.e. Destiny USA. Second, disputes may arise from green building certification … Continue Reading
I am wrapping up my discussion of the Destiny USA project this week with one final post. You can select the Destiny USA tag to review all of the previously published posts on this topic. I will also be publishing a compendium of posts on the topic — plus bonus coverage — later this week. Thank … Continue Reading
I am wrapping up my discussion of the Destiny USA project this week with two more posts. You can select the Destiny USA tag to review all of the previously published posts on this topic. I will also be publishing an e-book of posts — plus bonus coverage — at the end of this series. … Continue Reading
I am publishing a series of posts on the Destiny USA Debacle — the federally sponsored Green Bonds project that has failed to incorporate promised green building features. To read all of the posts at once, you can download a PDF version now. Or you can select the Destiny USA tag to review all of … Continue Reading
I am publishing a series of posts on the Destiny USA Debacle — the federally sponsored Green Bonds project that has failed to incorporate promised green building features. To read all of the posts at once, select the Destiny USA tag. We have now set the scene for the Destiny USA debacle. The key players … Continue Reading
I am publishing a series of posts on the Destiny USA Debacle — the federally sponsored Green Bonds project that has failed to incorporate promised green building features. To read all of the posts, you can select the Destiny USA tag to review all of the published posts on this topic. Or check back later … Continue Reading
I am publishing a series of posts on the Destiny USA Debacle — the federally sponsored Green Bonds project that has failed to incorporate promised green building features. To read all of the posts, you can select the Destiny USA tag to review all of the published posts on this topic. Or check back later … Continue Reading
I am publishing a series of posts on the Destiny USA Debacle — the federally-sponsored Green Bonds project that has failed to incorporate promised green building features. To read all of the posts at once, you can select the Destiny USA tag. In this post, I planned to describe the proposed Destiny USA project … Continue Reading
I have been working tirelessly to understand the intricacies of the Destiny USA dispute. It is quite a mind-bender, which I hope to illuminate for you in the coming days. But I am sure of one thing: This is easily the most important green building policy story to date. The dispute centers around a … Continue Reading
Up until yesterday, the biggest green building dispute I had come across was Shaw Development v. Southern Builders. That case involved $635,000 in damages because a project did not obtain the LEED certification necessary to qualify for state tax credits. That is chump change compared to the Destiny USA green building dispute that is … Continue Reading
You remember the $100 million dollar lawsuit against the US Green Building Council, right? It’s back in the spotlight, and it has taken a new form through an amended complaint filed by multiple Plaintiffs. No longer is the Plaintiff asking for $100 million. No longer is the Plaintiff asserting a class action lawsuit that … Continue Reading
Back in November 2010, I received a press release that caught my attention: “The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), developers of the LEED green building program today announced LEED Automation, a new program in collaboration with leading technology companies that is designed to streamline and create capacity for the LEED building certification process. LEED Automation … Continue Reading
This is as confusing and sordid as any green building dispute I have seen. Consider yourself warned. Over the holidays, Michael Anschel informed me that the the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC) had sued Minnesota GreenStar and filed a restraining order against using a green building standard. Despite that simple statement, there is … Continue Reading
Last night I had dinner with a long-time reader of Green Building Law Update. I was frank with him, and I will be frank with you. I will be doing two things this year with the blog: 1. I am going to stop talking about LEEDigation as much. 2. I am going to talk more … Continue Reading
It is the week between Christmas and New Year’s, which can only mean one thing: bloggers are getting lazy and doing "best of" posts. There was one story I wrote this year that was far and away more interesting to me than any other: the Northland Pines High School LEED certification challenge. I found the … Continue Reading
It is the week between Christmas and New Year’s, which can only mean one thing: bloggers are getting lazy and doing "best of" posts. At this year’s Greenbuild, I had the pleasure of meeting Tristan Roberts for the first time. I have been reading Tristan’s content at BuildingGreen.com for some time. I am highlighting one … Continue Reading
I recently attended the Green Tie event hosted by the US Green Building Council National Capitol Region. As I was milling about, I saw one of my green building friends that I had met nearly two years ago at the very first public speech I gave on LEED certification, risks and litigation. Back in 2008, … Continue Reading
Last week, I posted an article about an Army Corps of Engineers project that ran 25 percent over budget, in part because of costs associated with LEED certification. At the end of the article, I asked the question "what do you think would have happened if the Corps of Engineers refused to pay the cost … Continue Reading
If a Request for Proposal (RFP) is the key to a successful LEED project, what happens when an RFP does not properly address LEED requirements? Last week, I was skimming my AGC Smartbrief (a great resource for construction news), when my LEEDigation radar went off: "Texas military construction project goes 25% over budget" While the … Continue Reading
Last week, Bob Kobet and I took our shiny new green building presentation for a test ride. Entitled "LEED Orientation Lite," we focused on cost and risk management during the design and construction of a LEED project. While preparing our presentation, Bob kept driving home one singular point to me: the Request for Proposal (RFP) … Continue Reading
