Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 23, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 15 Stretch codes shouldn't impede economic viability Massachusetts will update building codes in 2023, where cities and towns looking to be classified as Green Communities would require new developments to use above- average measures and materials to reduce their carbon footprint, such as relying strictly on electricity for heating and cooling. These are called stretch codes. When polled online, the plurality of WBJ readers said developments should be held to high eco-friendly standards, but not so high as to hurt a project's viability. 15% Yes, to the highest standards possible, regardless of cost Should Central Massachusetts cities and towns require developers to construct new buildings to high eco-friendly standards? 48% Yes, but not so strict as to damage the economic viability of any project F L A S H P O L L C O M M E R C I A L R E A L E S T A T E F O C U S COMMENTS "With inflation raging and housing unaf- fordable for most people, shouldn't we be looking at ways to reduce burdens on developers?" 11% No, building codes shouldn't consider eco-friendliness. 27% No, achieving the highest standards should be voluntary Mass. commercial fuel emissions 0 2 4 6 8 10 '90 '95 '00 '05 '10 '15 '20 '25 '30 (Projection) 8.5 9 6.8 5 6.7 7.6 7.3 6.4 4.7 Million metric tons of CO2 Early adapters Tipping Point 01545 is part of the Massachusetts Climate Action Network, a nonprofit fighting the climate crisis one town at a time, and, said Jones, wants to push her community to force developers to build all-electric buildings. Jones has a different view than Na- scimento and O'Brien, though, when it comes to costs and adopting new rules. She sees it as an opportunity for devel- opers and contractors to learn about something new. If they do, they may out that the cost of building electric isn't vastly different from putting in fossil-fuel burning systems. Early adapters have an opportunity to get ahead of the curve, because change is coming regardless. "e tech has come really far," Jones said. "Education is required, but the developer will reap economically." One company embracing the chal- lenge to build electric is RODE Archi- tecture. e Boston firm has designed the planned nine-story building at the former site of Fairway Beef in Worcester's Canal District to be 100% electric. e only major difference between building an electric building and a fossil-fuel heated one is the size of the electric room, said Ruthie Kuhlman, an associate architect at RODE, because the units to heat and cool are oen bigger than traditional furnaces and boilers. Otherwise, the system stays roughly the same inside. To meet compliance with the new codes, a certain amount of insulation is needed in the walls and around windows, which does limit some design ideas and features, but that's not something Kuhlman is concerned with. What everyone can agree on, though, is the rules around the new stretch codes need to be transparent. "Most businesses want to play by the rules and do the right thing, but they need to understand the rules and they need more clarity," Nascimento said. "e permitting process needs to be clear." W Source: Mass. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

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