Riding the Wave |
Regency Centers rolls out new outdoor water conservation program at many of its centers – and realizes both environmental and operational success. |
January 20, 2010 Brian A. Lee Retail Facility Business The tidal wave of environmental urgency is building, and retail property management operations can either be caught in its undertow or ride the crest to new performance heights. Through its "greengenuity" sustainability initiative, Jacksonville, Florida-based Regency Centers has produced savings that certainly aren't watered down. How does 96 million gallons of water or the equivalent of 4,800 average-sized swimming pools conserved per year sound? Doubling its green pleasure – both environmental stewardship and operational efficiency can wear the same color – Regency Centers implemented an outdoor water conservation pilot program at 36 of its shopping centers in late 2008 and added 55 more in fall 2009 as part of Phase 2. The key feature is the on-site installation of Hydropoint Data Systems' WeatherTRAK irrigation controllers. "It's really based on where we have the largest savings opportunities, which properties are we using the most water at and then where do we have the overall best ROI," says Mark Peternell, Regency Centers' vice president of sustainability. "It's about water usage, water cost, available rebates and existing irrigation system design. First of all, you have to have a savings opportunity and then you need to make sure that your configuration of controllers is such that you can afford to replace them with the [WeatherTRAK] smart controllers and not drive up your first costs too substantially." A smart controller typically costs between $2,000 and $3,000, and then there's the additional expense associated with startup, training and programming. According to Peternell, the cost to retrofit a typical Regency Centers property, which has two controllers, may run between $5,000 and $6,000. The timeframe for recouping that investment varies as well. "Some properties are less than 12 months, and some are closer to 3 years," says Peternell. "Our average payback for Phase I is projected to be 22 months and slightly more than that in Phase II. And that's probably largely because in Texas and Florida, water doesn't cost as much and you don't have the rebates. So the payback's not been quite as quick [there]. We've decided anything we can do with payback in less than 36 months is a good investment." Rebates on these water conservation measures can save the property owner from 10% to 20% and, in some cases, up to 30% on initial costs. Peternell states that in the first phase of Regency Centers' smart irrigation controller retrofits, the company benefited from some sort of rebate on half to two-thirds of the 36 properties, especially in Colorado and California, where they "have been dealing with water shortages for a much longer time and they're just more progressive on conservation in general." "The municipalities have been great about doing some site analysis for us and giving us all of those rebate options up front as well, so that really played a role in site selection," says Kim Masayko, who oversees approximately 6 million square feet of Regency Centers' portfolio from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Pacific Northwest. Adds Peternell, "In general, as homeowners or commercial real estate owners, I don't think we take advantage of all the different rebates that are available. Regency is certainly trying to be more proactive in seeking these out. There are a lot of things out there that are really, really fruitful in terms of rebates. You put that in the cost-benefit model and it really does move the needle." Hydropoint's WeatherTRAK controllers receive daily satellite signals that communicate the rate of naturally occurring water loss from a plant or flowerbed. The controller then uses an algorithm to determine how much water it needs to replenish the flora. Through an annual subscription fee of $225, Regency Centers personnel and its landscape vendors can access the system remotely to make watering adjustments and respond to alerts. "The technology is still only as good as the management you're getting from it," says Peternell, affirming the important partnerships Regency Centers maintains with its landscape maintenance contractors. "So if you have good management, it really does give you an opportunity to see the savings." This extensive water conservation program is just part of Regency Centers' "greengenuity" corporate environmental sustainability initiative, which also covers energy and waste. "Probably what Greengenuity is most known for is our LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) projects on our new developments," says Peternell. "We made a goal to LEED-certify 20% of our new developments in 2008, 40% in 2009 and 60% in 2010. So right now we have seven projects in process of getting certification, and we're on target to achieve both our 2008 and 2009 goals. And we have 11 additional projects that are in pre-development and are registered for LEED certification." Not surprisingly, Regency Centers' day-to-day approach to managing its 55 million-square-foot portfolio maximizes resources and relationships. Masayko's western region is subdivided into three offices – the Bay Area covering all of Northern California and some Central California properties, Portland and Seattle. A typical maintenance call first goes to an ATF APM (assistant property manager) or property administrator. "They would first identify whether it's a common-area issue or a specific issue," Masayko says. "If it's common area, they would dispatch the appropriate vendor to make the repair. And if it's a tenant issue, they would typically refer to the lease to make sure that we're responsible for actually doing the work. We have a 24-hour call service, which is basically the same process. Usually the issues we have after hours are parking lot lights aren't on and things of that nature. We try to get everything in and out the door within 24 hours or less." Regency Centers relies on a mix of local and national third-party vendors. For a faster response time in the event of an emergency, Masayko prefers to have local vendors that are close to the shopping centers themselves. A vigorous check of references, ensuring that Regency Centers' national insurance requirement is met, competitive pricing and overall. |
| More Information: |
 About
HydroPoint Solutions Success
Stories Información
en español |
 |
| Savings Calculator |
| Estimate how much you could save by using WeatherTRAK. |
| To Calculator |
| Whitepaper | |
 |
"How to Implement a Cost-Effective Landscape Water Efficiency Program" Download whitepaper > |
 |
Home | Overview | Products | Professional Services | How It Works | How to Buy Support | Customer Login | Partners Login | Contact Us | Privacy & Legal Notices |
| © 2004-2010 HydroPoint Data Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved | |