NEWH - Spring 2021 - 62

SUSTAINABILITY | POINT OF VIEW

Measurable Impact
By Stacey Olson, Director of Sustainability, a Southwest Regional Design Resilience leader, and Global Resilience
Leader for the Wellness practice area, Gensler

One Beverly Hills, a $2 billion proposed development in Los Angeles, encompasses the legendary Beverly Hilton
and Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills hotels-alongside nearly five acres of publicly accessible gardens designed
to offer educational opportunities, environmental benefits, and a sense of wellness for visitors, guests, and
residents alike. In other words, hospitality, mixed-use, and residential meet community impact. NEWH Green
Voice champion Stacey Olson of Gensler, which serves as the project's executive architect, breaks down the
" why " of impact investments.

evelopers increasingly understand the benefits and importance of delivering safer environments, maximizing indoor-outdoor connections for enhanced air
quality, minimizing fossil fuel dependency, and quantifying community impact.
It is good stewardship and good business. " Community impacts aren't just personal preferences,
they're requirements, " according to Ari S. Untracht, a senior director at Eldridge, which invests in,
manages, and seeks to grow businesses across diversified industries including technology and
real estate.
Historically, moral capitalism (weighing profit and principle to foster sustainable, prosperous,
thriving communities) was born in the 18th century. Its 21st-century equivalent, " impact investing, "
aims for capital investments that address social and environmental issues with communal impact.
With such investments estimated at $715 billion annually, according to Global Impact Investing
Network's 2020 metrics, the market demands quantifiable, measurable results and favors all things
environmental, social, and wellness related.

How is that impact measured? It depends on key performance indicators (KPIs) of success,
as identified by the development. For example, when designing with a KPI of public safety,
measurable impact may be a percentage analysis of public-facing street frontages, and the
implementation method may include writing covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) that require unshuttered windows. For a KPI in rainwater management,
the analysis method is in designing for an 85-year storm event. The method of implementation may be using impervious surfaces allowing groundwater infiltration.

A view of the three hotels that are part of the proposed One
Beverly Hills project. Rendering courtesy of Cain International.

As an example, the proposed mixed-use One Beverly Hills project, developed by Cain International and Alagem Capital Group, designed by Foster + Partners, and
led by executive architect Gensler, encompasses 17.5 acres that returns 4.5 acres to the public via botanical garden and two-mile walking path to foster healthy
living. An additional eight acres of garden space contribute to species diversification.
Moreover, two new towers including 303 condos and a hotel featuring 42 all-suite guestrooms and 37 residences, plus four-story pavilion of casual dining and retail,
provide projected tax revenue of $1.2 billion over 30 years, supporting local government and schools.
Community impact is a key component of modern investment ventures. Explains Untracht: " As capital providers, we have a greater responsibility than an economic
return; this is not just personal preference and look and feel, but also the relevancy of what you're doing within the community-that's important. "
At Gensler, as the world's largest design firm, we have an obligation and an opportunity to improve the impact of the built environment. The impact investing
movement demands increased levels of corporate and political transparency, and a return to humanness, thoughtfulness, and governance respectful of all living
things and natural systems. We can reassess defunct real estate, create vibrant adaptive reuse and flexible-use communities, and contribute to communities that
flourish together. \[]
Measurable impacts in built environments-a sampling:
* Highly efficient HVAC systems with heat reclamation
* Smart building controls for in-unit monitoring of air, water, comfort,
lighting, audio, and security

* Energy battery storage, allowing for peak-load shedding
* Landscape featuring 100 percent graywater irrigation with moisturesensing technology
* Low embodied carbon

For more information on NEWH Green Voice, visit newh.org/education

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NEWH - Spring 2021

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