Moye White associate Bobby Dishell was sought out as an expert source by Law360 to discuss the future of building code regulations as it relates to cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions.
As Denver is facing a deadline to comply with new requirements that improve building efficiency, including prohibiting natural gas usage in new construction, Dishell outlines how these new regulations may affect landlords and developers and what issues they may face with ongoing supply chain issues.
Speaking to his practice areas of industrial acquisition, disposition, and development, Dishell examines how the real estate industry is noticing a significant shift in how building and asset management is used on a regular basis. He and his clients are seeing firsthand the impacts of supply chain troubles and significant labor deficiencies, including finding contractors with experience installing new technologies.
“The challenges have been market-related challenges, where clients maybe wanted to install a heat pump a few years ago, but couldn’t get a contractor who would recommend doing that because they said a furnace is less expensive,” he said, noting those price concerns directly impact the structure of so-called green leases that are written up in these cases to determine who pays for installation of the new technology.
He added: “Heat pumps are relatively new technology, so clients are asking, what is the useful life of a commercial-grade heat pump, and can you pass that through to a tenant? How do you pass that through?”
Back in New York, Preminger of Sive Paget said some of the problems they’re facing are less about hard roadblocks associated with technology installation or supply chain woes.
Some building owners, with old buildings that have been reliably powered by traditional systems for years, aren’t convinced the law will ever be enforced, he said. That line of thought has been bolstered at least in part by a lawsuit filed by building owners in May in New York state court, claiming the benchmarks of Local Law 97 are “draconian.”
The article was published July 15 by Law360. Read the full article here.
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