Condos are judged silver, not gold

Although the agenda for the July 18 Glen Cove Planning Board meeting called for a decision on the proposed subdivision of the Garvies Point redevelopment project’s Building B into 167 condominium units, much of the meeting focused on something else. Board members were told once again by RXR Garvies Point Project Manager Frank Haftel that Building B would most likely not meet “gold” environmental standards set forth by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification system, but the development instead would settle for “silver.” Although the silver rating would be higher than the board originally required, members asked for an explanation.

The LEED system was devised by the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit organization that promotes sustainability in building design and operation. The entire Garvies Point project will be rated using LEED’s Neighborhood Development System, and each building will be evaluated with the LEED for Homes System.

Each system has four ratings — certified, silver, gold and platinum — based on the accumulation of points. (Access to quality transit, for example, is worth 5 points; reducing indoor water use is worth 6; and producing renewable energy is worth 3.) The board required RXR to meet the certified rating, with a total of 40 to 49 points.

“When the building is completed, we are exceeding our target that was required for the planning board by 15 points,” Haftel said of Building B, which will be called the Beacon at Garvies Point.

But the seven members of the board said they were concerned about why the project could not attain a gold rating. Lauren Hildebrand, a senior sustainability consultant with Steven Winter Associates Inc. and RXR’s LEED consultant, explained that a variety of factors prevented the building from accumulating more points.

Its location, and the lack of “extensive community resources” in the neighborhood, are two of those factors. “Right now there’s not a lot there, because there’s not a lot built there,” Hildebrand said. “By the time this project gets certified, there might be more resources, so we might be able to earn a point at that time.”

Haftel added that the project has not accrued more points because of decisions to include enhanced quality-of-life features, like large windows, meant to benefit residents.

Planning Board Chairman Thomas Scott asked whether there was any benefit for the developer in having a LEED-certified project, and Hildebrand explained that the certification is mostly for marketing purposes, with a potentially higher return on investment resulting from the use of more efficient equipment.

To possibly gain points in the future, board member John Maccarone said the developers should reach out to Nassau Inter-County Express with a request to move a bus stop closer to the project.

At the end of the meeting, six board members voted to move forward with the subdivision of Building B into condos. Andrew Kaufman abstained.

Haftel said that the construction would begin this summer, but he did not give a date. The project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2019.