Five Real Estate Turkeys for 2025
It’s that time of year again, when we recognize the dumb ideas, political cowardice and dodo development plans that add a little extra spice to life in Massachusetts.
Buildings Play a Key Role in Massachusetts’ Energy Future
If we want to maintain momentum on climate goals, we must be strategic in how and when building performance is integrated into the construction process.
Boston Updates Green Goals for Multifamily Sector
The Wu administration is focusing on how to wean Boston’s vast inventory of aging apartments off fossil fuels. But with electricity costs sky-high, landlord groups are wary.
Helping Developers Meet Higher Green Goals
Developers need to keep up to speed on an expanding array of environmental regulations, creating opportunities for Agnes Vorbrodt and her firm.
How to Talk to Building Owners About Embodied Carbon
Recent municipal regulations mean designers face an urgent need to translate these rules’ implications for building owners and developers.
With Ordinance, Boston Targets Climate Change
For a planet with over 8 billion people, BERDO cannot provide meaningful climate change mitigation by itself, but one has to start somewhere.
Hood Park Expansion Promises Hotel, Electric Grid Upgrade
Owners of Charlestown’s 20-acre Hood Park are ready to take the next step in its transformation with plans for a 160-room hotel and 90-unit residential building.
Aquarium Gets Exemption from Boston Emissions Deadline
The New England Aquarium became the first property in Boston to receive a higher emissions limit in complying with a new building emissions ordinance, after executives described the energy-hungry requirements of its Central Wharf facility and potential decarbonization costs.
Watertown Hits Pause on BERDO Ordinance
Watertown leaders hit pause on new building emissions regulations after objections from the business community and condominium associations about the potential costs and complications.
Drastic Changes Needed to Balance Emissions Reductions and Housing Production
The costs of meeting the state’s energy policies are showing up as a stealth tax in the form of higher housing ownership costs and higher rents. A lot of that has to do with town and city policy.
Sustainability Standoff in Watertown
Potential new requirements to discourage fossil fuel use at approximately 150 large buildings in Watertown would drive up housing costs and penalize developers of recent lab projects, opponents say.
List of Mass. Buildings That Must Report Energy Use Taking Shape
More than 30,000 properties currently appear on a draft list of “covered buildings” tied to the LBER policy, which was embedded in a 2022 clean energy and offshore wind law.
Embracing Sustainability Offers a Solution to Boston’s Office and Housing Crises
There is a clear opportunity to embrace sustainability strategies while reconfiguring Boston’s building stock for a more sustainable future.
Commission Rejects Boston Fossil Fuel-Free Zoning Code
In a surprise vote Wednesday night, Boston’s Zoning Commission rejected the Wu administration’s attempt to limit carbon emissions in new developments.
Waltham Office Property First to Tap into Decarbonization Savings
As commercial landlords swap out fossil fuel-burning systems for electricity, 24 Crescent St. in Waltham is the first office building to tap into Eversource’s clean energy retrofits program to offset the costs.
Boston Office Vacancies Leave Decarbonization Efforts in Limbo
With capital hard to come by, even the promise of city fines and higher-paying tenants attracted to green energy upgrades may not be enough to make downtown building owners act.
Experts’ Voices Must Be Part of Decarbonization Conversation
We are experiencing a sea change in regulations related to sustainability and decarbonization in the built environment. And technical experts like architects need to have central roles in their development.
Your Feedback Is Helping Adapt Boston’s Buildings for a Sustainable Future
The engagement of A Better City and our member companies in this process was instrumental in finding a solutions-oriented approach to a critical piece of combating climate change.
More Green Building Requirements Coming to Boston in 2024
The next hurdle for developers that want to build in the city will challenge them to include decarbonized materials and green building designs to reduce their fossil fuel footprints.
BERDO Turns Up the Heat on Landlords
Boston’s groundbreaking law cutting large buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions is set to gain a set of teeth, but a leading real estate group says the measure could drive up rents and make the affordability crisis worse.
