As apartment buildings continue to emerge steadily in the greater Baltimore area, Lorax has found itself welcoming an influx of green multifamily residential projects into our portfolio.
A contributing factor to the increase in green multifamily residential buildings is the recent update to the Baltimore City Green Construction Code (BCGCC) and Baltimore’s adoptions of the International Green Construction Code (IgCC). IgCC was implemented in April 2015 and includes green building compliance paths for not only commercial buildings but residential buildings as well.
Also, the new changes to mortgage insurance premiums (MIPs) recently proposed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for several Federal Housing Administration (FHA) multifamily mortgage insurance programs reduce MIP rates from between 45 and 70 basis points to 25 for Green and Energy Efficient Housing. This reduction has sent a positive market signal to invest in higher building performance standards that are more energy-efficient and sustainable than traditional building practices.
On top of these requirements and incentives for green multifamily residential buildings, Baltimore has recently seen an increased demand in rental properties in the downtown area. People in their 20’s and 30’s have been particularly drawn to Baltimore because of its universities and hospitals.
While LEED has always been a staple for many of our past multifamily residential projects and can be a compliance option for both the IgCC requirements and HUD incentive, more recently we have picked up on an interest in the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) by our clients. NGBS Certification is a third-party verification that a home, apartment building, or land development is designed and built to achieve high performance.
Many of our clients have chosen to pursue the NGBS path towards green building compliance. For example, ATAPCO’s Creekside Village Apartments achieved NGBS Bronze in 2014, also, PMC Property Group’s 103 Gay Street apartments, Zahlco Development’s Calvert Loft apartments, the Nelson-Kohl Apartments in Baltimore’s Station North Arts & Entertainment District, and the Franklin Square Apartments in Rosedale are all pursuing NGBS Bronze currently.
These projects and clients have all seen a reduced cost in the certification fees as well as more options for green building compliance when pursuing the NGBS standard. NGBS has proven to be a great option for developers looking to develop a high performance multifamily residential building at a low cost.