Albanese and Related Co. to develop green Battery Park site

Real Estate Weekly, April 4, 2001

The Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) announced today that it has selected the Albanese Development Corporation and The Related Companies as developers of environmentally advanced "green" high rise apartment buildings on sites 18B and 19B respectively.

The two new "green" high-rise buildings, which will be built in accordance with the BPCA's pioneering "Green Guidelines," will be located on sites overlooking the new "Tear Drop Park" in Battery Park City's North Neighborhood. They will join the first high-rise "green" apartment building in the United States that is now under development on nearby site 18A by Albanese and which is expected to break ground soon.

Governor George E. Pataki said, "I am delighted that the Battery Park City Authority is moving forward with two new 'green' residential apartment buildings that set the pace for environmentally-responsible construction in our state and nation. Battery Park City's "Green Guidelines" have broken new ground in a host of areas. We are taking the lessons we've learned about our environment and healthy living and are putting them to productive use. Our Green Buildings program is not only smart policy, it sends an important message: a healthy economy and a healthy environment go hand in hand."

The new high-rises will combine environmentally advanced engineering techniques with excellence in design to create "green" residential buildings featuring:

* On site storage, filtering and recycling of waste water to supply flush water for toilets and other maintenance functions;

* Photo-voltaic panels for generating electric power to provide at least five percent of base building electric load; space allocated for the future use of fuel cells;

* The collection of storm water from the roof in storage tanks, and plumbing fixtures that use 10 percent less water than required by the Energy Policy Act of 1992; the REP's also specify a separate 5,000 gallon storage tank for storm water that can be used to irrigate the trees, shrubs and grass in Tear Drop Park.

* Energy strategies that are 35 percent more efficient than current NYS codes, including dimmable and motion-detector controlled lighting, low-E glazing, high efficiency insulation, 30 percent more natural light, and energy-efficient appliances;

* Enclosed storage for bicycles;

* The recycling of a minimum 60 percent of construction waste material;

* High use of construction materials with recycled content;

* Efficient HVAC systems with high amounts of filtered outdoor air, with 85 percent of particulates removed.

James Gill, Chairman of the Battery Park City Authority, said, "The selection of Albanese and Related for sites 18B and 19B indicates that our "green" building program, which is the first of its kind, is moving ahead with commendable speed. The high cost of fossil fuel makes it more important than ever that we use environmentally-advanced technologies to conserve energy. Inspired by Governor Pataki, New York is taking the lead in demonstrating to private industry and the world that "green" is a better way to

David Wine, vice chairman of The Related Companies, L.P., said: "Related is thrilled to continue our tradition of being on the cutting edge in real estate development. We are honored to have been selected by the Battery Park City Authority to develop the green building on site 19B. Related is noted for building New York's finest residential buildings and we welcome the opportunity to continue this tradition. Environmentally friendly construction is a real challenge but an important one for the real estate community and New York's leadership. Governor Pataki deserves enormous credit for the green building program."

Related has constructed four other buildings in Battery Park City: Tribeca Park and Parc Place, rentals, and Battery Pointe and The Soundngs, condominiums.

The two new "green" buildings, which can be built out to 260,000 sq. ft. (18B) and 330,000 sq. ft. (19B), will be 230 ft. in height. They will have footprints of 16,000 sq. ft. (18B) and 21,400 sq. ft. (19B) and be located on the west side of North End Avenue between Murray and Warren Streets. The Albanese building on site 18B is expected to have about 260 units and cost $95 million. Estimated cost of the Related building, which will have about 330 units, is $113.