SILVER SPRING, MD – To learn more about how “green” development concepts play out in the marketplace, the Planning Board will welcome a team of developers specializing in eco-friendly building techniques to its 2009 Growing Smarter Speaker Series on Thursday, October 29.
Jonathan Gritz and Marnie Abramson of The Tower Companies will provide real-world examples of green growth as part of their presentation, “Sustainable Development: Costs, Incentives and the 'Greening' of Real Estate.” They will present an overview of the costs associated with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) developments in Montgomery County and provide their perspectives on green building market penetration and the market’s response.
Environmentally sensitive design has been envisioned in all recent Planning Board initiatives – from the 2009-2011 Growth Policy to community plans.
Gritz and Abramson are the latest of a series of monthly speakers to present before the Board this year. Continuing education credits have been approved for AICP members.
The Tower Companies develop what the company calls “eco-progessive” real estate featuring environmentally sensitive buildings and communities. The company has focused on indoor air quality, energy conservation, and innovative design in its offices, residential communities, retail, and mixed-use developments.
Among its work is the 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard office building, which earned a LEED platinum level certification, and renovating the mixed-use Blair Apartments in Silver Spring, again under LEED’s green building rating system.
Gritz, a sustainable development analyst, develops recycling, energy efficiency, and sustainability programs for The Tower Companies. He’s now working to improve the energy efficiency and environmental performance of over 2 million square feet of office space and 1,400 multi-family apartment units. He helped in drafting Tower’s green lease and has assisted in numerous LEED projects, including Tower’s new LEED platinum corporate headquarters in Rockville and the first multi-tenant commercial office building in Washington D.C., certified under the LEED for Existing Buildings rating system.
Abramson, director of marketing and public relations, educates governments, brokers, tenants and other developers through public relations, advertising and public speaking. Abramson is a winner of the Washington Business Journal’s 2008 Women Who Mean Business award and was recently selected as one of Bisnow’s “35 under 35” for 2008, a list of up-and-coming business leaders.
Who:
Montgomery County Planning Board
What:
The Tower Companies presenting “Sustainable Development: Costs, Incentives and the 'Greening' of Real Estate”
When:
7:30 p.m. Thursday, October 29
Where:
Park and Planning Headquarters auditorium
8787 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring
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