Living Green
Energy-Efficient Buildings
By Bryan Hayes
With the Olympics now officially over, what were your favorite moments from the games? For many, it was Simone Biles, the sensational gymnast who represented the United States in grand fashion by winning not 1, not 2, but 4 gold medals. Her performance was a product of, among other things, years of rigorous training.
How and where she practiced is a story unto itself. Far away from the Rio games, in the town of Spring, Texas is where Biles’ preparation began. Fitting a world champion, her practice facility is aptly named the World Champions Centre. A 52,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility owned by her parents, she like so many other athletes, spent countless hours perfecting her craft.
It is that same attention to detail that brought together the Biles family and ELB Consulting, a renowned commercial real estate service firm specializing in maximization of clients’ federal tax credits and energy incentives through fully engineered tax solutions. While ELB Consulting offers many impactful studies, the World Champions Centre benefited from both Cost Segregation and the EPACT 179 Energy Tax Deduction.
In simplest terms, the 179D Energy Efficient Commercial Building Tax Deduction is a federal deduction for the installation cost of energy efficient components, up to $1.80 per square foot. By being more energy efficient, there is a decreased carbon footprint, making it more environmentally friendly. The deductions offset the costs of new construction and also buildings that have installed or upgraded to energy efficient subsystems. Tenants can also qualify for the deduction if they have themselves paid for their own energy-efficient lighting.
In order to obtain the EPAct tax benefits, the building must be certified by an engineer, such as the ones form ELB Consulting. In doing so, the building owner(s) not only receive the tax deduction, they also benefit greatly from reduced energy costs. In addition, the green influenced design and construction properties enhance the long-term value of the property.
For a building owner, you can now be socially-conscious and literally reap the benefits.
The benefits also don’t stop there. A building owner does not need to have a world champion athlete to utilize ELBs comprehensive, fully engineered, cost segregation study. Cost segregation is an engineering tax solution to increase cash flow through the accelerating of depreciation deductions to reduce and/or eliminate state and federal income taxes.
If you are a building owner or know someone who may be able to benefit from these services, contact ELB Consulting at (561) 866-0976 to learn more.