Yearly Archives: 2016

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Pacific Northwest Region completed 22 environmental compliance and enforcement actions in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington from October 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015

Already actively engaged in the global arena, CCIM Institute will leverage its international presence by cultivating new partners from multiple countries. To advance this goal, 2016 CCIM Institute President Steven Moreira, CCIM, will meet with many international commercial real estate leaders at MIPIM, the international property market forum, March 15-18, in Cannes, France

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today proposed adding the Dorado Groundwater Contamination Site in the municipality of Dorado, Puerto Rico to its Superfund National Priorities List of the country’s most hazardous waste sites. Sampling at the site has found chemical contamination that is impacting wells used to supply drinking water to the local communities. Exposure to the solvents, which include tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene, can have serious health impacts including, damage to the liver and increase the risk of cancer

State renewables portfolio standards, known as RPS policies, have contributed to more than half of all renewable electricity growth in the United States since 2000. Most state RPS requirements will continue to rise through at least 2020, if not beyond, and collectively these policies will require substantial further growth in U.S. renewable electricity supplies. These findings, illustrated in the figures below, are part of a new annual status report on state RPS policies, from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

The home building industry celebrates New Homes Month in April by sharing the top features that will be seen in typical new homes built in 2016. Once again, builders are responding to what home buyers want by offering greater efficiency in the design and function of the home

The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant ALDI ground lease located at 5811 High Street in Portsmouth, VA for $3,280,000

Long recognized for responsible investing, TIAA Global Asset Management identified a unique opportunity to create significant environmental benefits though energy management, water conservation, waste reduction and other operational best practices via its 163 million square foot, $91.6 billion real estate portfolio. The organization has received recognition from prominent industry organizations driving the effort to embrace sustainability and reduce the risk and impact of climate change, including earning its ninth consecutive ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award.

New materials addenda designed to foster holistic transformation in the building product industry. USGBC announced the quarterly addenda to LEED, which includes several materials addenda designed to foster holistic transformation in the building product industry

The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs convened a hearing to assess the effects of Consumer Finance Regulation. Mike Calhoun, President of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) offered comments for the committee's record and issued the following statement

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced that in February and March of 2016 it welcomed 30 new regular members to its ranks, which currently numbers more than 2,200 member companies.

Along with the growing number of Americans exploring powering their homes from the sun, comes the need to help consumers through the complex process of going solar. Residential rooftop solar grew 66 percent in the U.S. last year. That means more consumer marketers and salespeople in the marketplace. More meetings with contractors and solar salespeople. More information to understand and more confusion

Henry Cisneros co-chairs BPC’s Housing Commission, Immigration Task Force, and Senior Health and Housing Task Force. He served as the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in President Bill Clinton’s administration. Cisneros was credited with initiating the revitalization of many of the nation’s public housing developments and formulating policies which contributed to achieving the nation’s highest ever homeownership rate

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that two Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) employees illegally interfered with a Congressional investigation and has recommended sanctions

The House of Representatives has filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Texas opposing the Obama administration's executive overreach. The brief, authorized by a vote of the full House, sets forth why only Congress—not the executive branch—is empowered to write the nation’s immigration laws.

This week, an eight-person panel of nationally renowned land use, design, and urban planning experts will visit Reno, Nevada to evaluate how to improve the area’s livability and economic development potential. The advisory services panel, convened by the Urban Land Institute (ULI), specifically will be researching the economic vitality and activation of the Virginia Street Corridor by considering land use, design, and transportation elements from the University of Nevada, Reno (17th Street) to Meadowood Mall (McCarran Boulevard)

A finely tuned carbon nanotube thin film has the potential to act as a thermoelectric power generator that captures and uses waste heat, according to researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

The Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources, Dr. Yuval Steinitz, and the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Dr. Ernest Moniz, this morning signed an amendment to an existing agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructure that will further enhance cooperation between the two countries.

A Valuable Resource for the Next Generation of Building Industry Professionals. This week, the National Institute of Building Sciences and its Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) Education Program rolled out a new Building Sciences Career Center atwww.wbdg.org/BuildingSciencesCareerCenter on the WBDG Whole Building Design Guide® to help inspire high school students to become interested in a career in the building industry.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, released guidance on Monday for landlords and sellers on consideration of criminal records in housing, making it clear that blanket bans on renting or selling to anyone with a criminal record constitute illegal discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act. This measure will go a long way toward giving returning citizens and all Americans with criminal records a fair shot at securing safe and stable housing for themselves and their families. Carmel Martin, Executive Vice President for Policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement in response

Mercy Housing, Inc. announced today that it has begun the transfer of 3,666 affordable homes from Franciscan Ministries, Inc. The transfer of the ownership and management of these 33 properties will increase Mercy Housing’s portfolio by 20 percent, and will strengthen Mercy Housing’s mission and footprint. The properties are located in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin, many states in which the nonprofit already operates