It’s not easy being green
Jon Behrends, owner of Precision Contractor in Poughkeepsie, has been a major force in bringing back Poughkeepsie”™s downtown. His stock in trade is buying up old buildings that are essentially shells and putting in upscale apartments and ground-level retail units, while preserving the historic facades. A decade ago, he was the first developer to fix up a row of buildings on Main Street, then a blighted thoroughfare of boarded-up buildings. And now he is the first developer in Poughkeepsie, if not all of New York state, to complete an ambitious mixed-use development downtown that utilizes green building practices and a smart-growth design philosophy.
Although he”™s still putting the finishing touches on the project, called Behrends Court, he”™s already rented all of the 40 apartments in the 51,000-square-foot complex, which range from studios to two bedrooms and several work-live lofts. Seven of the nine commercial units, which are housed in a preserved row of storefronts on the 300 block of Main Street, also are rented.
The three-story complex straddles portions of a full block that includes an interior private parking alley and a park. Two photovoltaic (PV) systems have been installed on the roof, and beneath the building a series of geothermal wells tap the ambient temperature of the earth to cool and heat the residential units.    Â
To help offset the project”™s $7 million cost, Behrends took advantage of a variety of grants and incentives. For each $125,000 PV system, he received a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) grant of approximately $75,000. For installing the geothermal system ”“ drilling the wells alone cost $250,000 ”“Behrends got another grant of $54,000 from NYSERDA, along with a $2,400 credit from Central Hudson. He also got a $314,000 grant from the county for constructing four moderate-income apartments and $52,500 in façade improvement grants from the city for restoring the seven storefronts. A $70,000 Main Street grant from the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, a state agency providing funding for downtown revitalization, topped off the package.  Â
It”™s an impressive project, one that any city planner would warm to. But cuts in the state energy incentives no longer make such a development financially feasible, he noted. With the money he got, “it was very tight,” he said. “The cuts require you to put your heart and soul and pocket in green projects.” The electric bill of his tenants is also far higher than he expected. The green energy systems “cost us more than if a conventional heating-cooling system had been installed,” he said. “If you don”™t get assistance, it”™s not economically viable. The consumer may be forced to go away from green.”
For Behrends, who drives a hybrid car, it”™s not just about the dollars. He”™s committed to building green because “it”™s the right thing to do.” He followed the guidelines for the federal program, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDS), although he chose not to invest $50,000 to have the building officially certified.
This included reusing the wood, steel, brick and other existing materials in the new construction, rather than throwing them in a Dumpster; utilizing renewable materials, such as bamboo and cork for the apartment floors and recycled rubber for the second-floor courtyard; planting grasses and other flora in the courtyard to absorb and purify storm water runoff; and installing a giant cistern to capture rainwater for recycling. Insulated concrete forms, which are much more energy efficient than traditional lumber framing, were used for the new-built exterior walls.Â
Then there”™s the cutting-edge green energy systems. He installed two PV systems on the roof, which provide electricity for the lighting in the parking area and in the central hallways, basement and other communal areas. He also drilled 21 geothermal wells: each 6-inch water-filled pipe extends 499 feet into the ground, where the temperature is about 50 degrees all the time. The water is circulated up into each residential unit and by means of a high-efficiency heat pump cools the temperature of the air in summer and heats it in winter.
Although he thought the tenants would see a savings from their Central Hudson bill because of the system”™s efficiencies, instead some are complaining that their bill is higher than what they paid in their former apartments.
The problem is Central Hudson”™s high delivery charge, which “is always more than half the actual consumption,” according to Behrends. Sitting in the company office, his wife, Tiffany, who is the property manager, pulls out bills showing delivery charges of $75 (for a total bill of $133) and $81 (for a bill of $150). She noted that she received a bill of $80 last month for a gas-electric meter that clocked only $5 worth of power usage.
Behrends said the biggest issue, however, is limits put on the amount of power he can produce from the solar-energy systems. He installed two 15-kilowatt (kw) systems only to discover that Central Hudson wouldn”™t allow a net meter, which sends excess power back to the grid, for 12 kw of electricity demand. “I”™m using that much in any one day,” he said. Under the utility”™s rules, “anybody with an electricity surge of more than 12 kw is considered commercial and has to pay for on-demand metering as opposed to a net meter.” He fixed the problem by reducing his usage of power from the PV systems, but said he has yet to get a bill showing his actual usage. “They gave us an estimated reading of $2,000 for one bill but I rejected it,” said Behrends. “We know the bill can”™t be that big.”     Â
The limits make no sense, he added. What would make the project more feasible from an energy standpoint is installing a much larger photovoltaic system, with a capacity of 1 or 2 megawatts. “We”™d be a generator of power,” he said. The excess power would enable him to supply his neighbors, helping offset the cost of installation. As it is, there are no incentives for such a system and meanwhile, according to the terms of his contract, “Central Hudson is paying us a wholesale price and reselling it at a retail rate.”
Behrends, who bought his first dilapidated building in Poughkeepsie in the late 1970s, is also doing a green project in Kingston. His firm is the contractor for the renovation of the Kirkland Hotel, which is owned by the Rural Ulster Preservation Co., a nonprofit that assists low-income residents with housing. The historic property will house eight apartments, two offices, and retail units and utilize a geothermal system. He is also in the planning stages of another Poughkeepsie apartment project that would incorporate geothermal energy.
Though the affordability of green energy is a big question mark for Behrends, he hasn”™t been daunted by another challenge: finding tenants for luxury apartments in a downtown area many still consider to be iffy. Although local residents balk at moving downtown, Behrends said he has no problem getting rents of $900 and up for his apartments, which include kitchens with granite countertops and elegant, marbled-wall bathrooms.
“You can get well-heeled tenants into Poughkeepsie if you provide nice apartments,” he said, noting that Behrends Court has a video intercom in the hall and electronic gates protecting the parking area, as well as storage facilities and a laundry room. “If you build it, they will come.”
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