nelson mandela bay, south africa

Molly worked as part of a small multi-disciplinary team on behalf of the World Bank and South African National Treasury to advise stakeholders on a vision for an area immediately adjacent to the Port Elizabeth CBD. The questions focused on linking the Baakens River and Valley to the Bay, utilizing the natural assets and heritage sites, promoting economic development, environmental sustainability, and social infrastructure. Significant aspects included aligning the vision and actions of a number stakeholders and striking a balance between economic and social considerations. Recommendations included funding an arts and culture project, engaging the multi-heritage community through a variety of outreach - meetings, signage, information kiosks, public art and education, humanizing the space to enhance walkability and security, the formation of two distinct business improvement districts, a focus on regeneration over new construction, fostering and creating housing in the CBD and building strong coalitions and partnerships.

Move Over, Cape Town. Port Elizabeth Is On The Rise.

Deep Energy Retrofits/Building Renewal

We provided value-add investment analyses and implementation plans for deep energy retrofits on four CBD office buildings ranging in age from17- 60+ years and 37,000 s.f. to 550,000 s.f. The objective was to achieve between 35%-70% energy savings through an integrated design process, pragmatic financial decisions and repositioning of assets.

The Results?
•   41% - 55% energy cost and usage savings
•   16-41% investment returns

Check out the Building Renewal website and SPARK interactive tool.

Portland, OR

We provided the triple bottom analysis on two major projects in the Lloyd District in Portland, Oregon. The first, a deep energy retrofit of an existing 1970’s office building which reduced energy use by >35% and the second, development of an adjacent 600 + unit multi-family LEED Platinum project conceived as an eco-district – a series of buildings that share sustainable energy, water and waste infrastructure. The project helped revitalize the neighborhood, allows tenants the ability to reduce their carbon footprint by nearly a third and processes 100% of wastewater onsite. The development contains the largest community water system and largest bike parking station in the country. We analyzed the economic and social value of the sustainability attributes to the owner, the tenants, the neighborhood and the city, including the value of the cross-benefits of the sustainable systems, green infrastructure, reduced sewer impact, carbon emissions, energy savings, job creation and transit oriented development (impact on vehicle miles traveled), and economic development.

Sustainability and Impact

Economic Cost and Benefit Analysis – We use a proprietary analysis tool and financial methodologies to estimate incremental investments and economic impacts. These include transit orientation, walkability, operating cost increases, resource cost and volatility, market supply and demand dynamics, and the mitigation of investment risks. Focus on "value add" vs. risk.

Market Acceptance and Penetration – Analyzing the level of market penetration of green/ high-performance buildings within the project’s local market, comparability and competition.

Building Attributes – We take an integrated and pragmatic approach to the recommendation of high-performance attributes and systems. We've found there is a clear order of investments (e.g. reduce plug loads first and address deferred maintenance before significant system replacement) and a timeline and identifiable insertion points to optimize investment. These may include greater insulation, systems designed to achieve higher energy/water efficiency; generate on-site power; reduce energy demand; minimize water consumption; and maintain robust building management, monitoring and control systems. In many instances, these have been found to result in higher occupant satisfaction.