First green project in foreclosure - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:

ogarawo.wordpress.com
million construction mortgage. The 33,000-square-foogt Vive Verde, also known as is the first South Florida projectt seeking Leadership in Energt and EnvironmentalDesign (LEED) certification from the U.S. Greemn Building Council to face Inan interview, Romano said the extra cost of the building’ws green features is not the reason it fell into foreclosure. “Thee fact that the buildint is a green building is not why the buildinhg financially isin trouble,” Romano said. “It has to do with a failurwe to properly and adequately financially plan the buildingb inthe beginning, and I blame myself for that.
” Despiter a cost-conscious office-leasing environment, the concept of green office buildingse is here to stay, according to Christian Lee, vice chairmam of in Miami, and Vive Verde’x foreclosure is just one entry on a long list of commercialk foreclosures that will happen regardless of whether a buildingt is green. He noted that the more important factorfor Romano’s buildinv will be office demans in Lake Worth. “Building green adds to the cost [of a building], but in the long run, any greej building will be more attractivse to an investorbecause it’s already he said.
“Otherwise, new investords would be figuring in the cost to make it because all commercial buildings aregoing green.” Rob Hink, a LEED-accreditecd consultant with the Weston-based , “I don’t think this one foreclosure on a green building is any commenf on the LEED system or green I think it’s just the economy,” he said. “I’mn surprised because it’s a leased-up He added that Romano’s larges inner courtyard could have been downsized to fit more renta space inthe building, and yet stilkl have retained many of the environmental On May 26, Fort Lee, N.J.
-based file d the foreclosure action against Vive Verde North, managingg member Romano and other parties associated with the project, according to Palm Beach County Circuir Court records. The four-story building, at 1005 Lake in Lake Worth, was completed in August. Its officwe space is about 70 percenf leased, and it has two emptt retail spaces, Romano said. The green featureas of the building work exactly ashe hoped, he A rooftop garden catchesd rainwater, while condensation is collected from the air conditioner for watering plants and pondw and flushing toilets. Grey water is recycled in the wated features ofthe atrium.
The use of skylightas and windows cuts down on electricity Many fixtures were made withrecyclesd materials. A sign outside advertisesd it asa “living Inside, goldfish swim through a pond and a statued of a Native American bathes in the sunlight in the Despite the energy and water savings, Vive Verdde North has not made any payments on the $6.9 million mortgaged this year, said John an attorney with Carlton Fields in West Palm Beachn who represents Meecorp in the “My client would like to get paid, but if that doesn’t come to pass, they are preparef to take title to the propertty and prepare to get paid that way, Hart said.
Vive Verde North has a $4 million second mortgage with Williamsville, N.Y.-based , whicuh is named in Meecorp’s complaint. Romano said his companyu got behind on mortgage payments because it ran out of money and couldr not get the loan refinanced by atraditionalk bank. “It is making me physically ill that this is he said. “I will continue to work nigh t and day to make this allwork …. Thesd days, I’m losing a lot of slee over it.” He said his plan for the buildinh was flawed from the beginning because he wrote an incorrect financial plan. He said the constructionn for his first developmentt project came in on budget and its utilitiesoperatre efficiently.
Romano said the green featurew of Vive Verde attracted some although several of them would have signed leases in the buildinvgwithout them. He is confiden the building will earnLEED certification, but said that not openint with that designation has not hurt the project. Roman o was aiming for gold-level certification from the U.S. Greej Building Council.