Mayor Sanders Unveils "Green" Building Program for Downtown San Diego

SAN DIEGO--(Business Wire)--
On Earth Day 2010, Mayor Jerry Sanders unveiled a new program designed to make
Downtown San Diego more environmentally sustainable and to help San Diego reach
State climate change goals for 2020.

Called "Centre City Green," the program is under development by the Centre City
Development Corporation (CCDC), working on behalf of the Redevelopment Agency
for the City of San Diego. The program builds upon Mayor Sanders` agenda for
water conservation, energy innovation, and clean technology to ensure the city`s
long-term environmental sustainability for future generations.

Centre City Green includes new, incentive-based, "green" building measures that
will help new and existing buildings to use less water and less energy, reduce
automobile demand, and provide healthy indoor and outdoor spaces for people.
Potential incentives include increased building density, faster permitting,
development code variances, support of "green team" specialists, and public
recognition.

The program also includes new lighting strategies for the Centre City and a
pilot program to create new "green" streets throughout downtown.

According to Sanders, with the adoption of the State`s new CalGreen building
codes in January 2011, California will already have some of the most stringent
environmental building standards in the country.

"We want to reward those developers who exceed California green building
standards and to build in flexibility so that `green` solutions can be
customized for different types of buildings ranging from hotels, to condos, to
offices," said Sanders.

Sanders was joined by Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer, CCDC officials
and representatives of organizations including the U.S. Green Building Council,
California Center for Sustainable Energy, SDG&E, and building industry
representatives.

The Earth Day announcement was made at Strata, a new, 24-story luxury apartment
tower slated to be the first LEED Silver-certified residential high-rise in the
City of San Diego.

Developed by The Hanover Company of Houston, Strata meets the guidelines for
more rigorous Silver certification under the U.S. Green Building Council`s LEED
rating program for its sustainability measures including the use of landscaped
"eco roofs."

Strata and its neighbor, the LEED-certified Hotel Indigo, were two of the first
projects to use CCDC`s incentive program that allow developers to add additional
square footage to their projects in exchange for installing landscaping on their
roofs. The roof-top plants serve as a natural insulation, thereby reducing the
building`s energy usage for heating and cooling. They also help to improve
downtown air quality.

Faulconer, who represents downtown San Diego, praised the Strata project and
Hotel Indigo, downtown`s first LEED certified hotel, as "models of sustainable
development."

"Building `green` and renovating downtown`s older buildings are critically
important," Faulconer added, "because an estimated 40 percent of carbon
emissions in the U.S. come from buildings."

Faulconer announced that as part of Centre City Green, CCDC is developing a
comprehensive Lighting Master Plan that will provide new energy efficient
lighting strategies for buildings, streets and sidewalks throughout downtown. He
acknowledged SDG&E for donating more than $100,000 to fund lighting innovations
through the plan.

Shifting the focus to the public realm, Faulconer added that CCDC will soon
launch a pilot "Green Streets" program to create healthier outdoor spaces that
are more pedestrian and bike friendly, add more greenery, support transit, use
less energy and water, improve air quality and reduce storm water pollution in
the San Diego Bay.

CCDC hopes to recognize and promote those buildings that excel as models of
`green` development by issuing a local Centre City Green plaque or "seal of
approval" to raise awareness in the public, said CCDC chairman Fred Maas.

"Most important," Maas added, "these programs will have specific performance
measures so we can quantify our success in meeting or exceeding State goals for
improving air and water quality, reducing our water and energy consumption, and
lowering greenhouse gas emissions."

Maas noted that the Centre City Green program is still in the planning stages
and that the agency would focus in coming months to determine which incentives
will be most effective in encouraging private sector participation.

For more information about CCDC`s Centre City Green program, visit www.ccdc.com.

CCDC is a public, nonprofit corporation established in 1975 by the City of San
Diego to plan and facilitate the redevelopment of the 1,500-acre downtown area.

Centre City Development Corporation
Derek Danziger, 619-533-7103 or 619-977-4009 cell

Copyright Business Wire 2010