The Dollars and Sense of Building Incentives
The diverse nature of Miron’s completed projects has helped to broaden our experience in assisting our clients in a critical area: the pursuit of project financing and tax incentives. Depending on the project, there are a wide variety of incentives that clients can, and should, consider. It’s not just government sources – federal, state and local – but also funding available through private financing, grants and other incentives.
With numerous Miron clients approaching building and renovation projects for the first time, the knowledge base in place here at Miron is an added benefit to our clients.
Two recent successful school projects are examples of how this expertise is an asset to our clients. Incentive funding helps in the development process; it often also results in significant operational cost savings down the road.
In September 2010, we completed a renovation project at Lake Mills Middle School. We involved Focus on Energy early on in the design process as this was a design-build project where we also held the contracts with the design team. This project was ultimately awarded LEED Platinum Certification, under the LEED for Schools rating system, making it the greenest school in Wisconsin and the 7th greenest building in the world. We were able to secure nearly $85,000 to offset the cost of energy efficient equipment and systems for this significant renovation. When the project was completed, it tripled the size of the original building. The new equipment, including energy-efficient lighting and HVAC systems, is now helping the school save nearly $85,000 annually due to reduced energy consumption.
Miron was also able to assist in securing similar funding for the Hillcrest Primary School project in the Shawano School District. This 130,000 sq. ft. project, which was completed in 2010, and was the first primary school in the nation to seek LEED Gold Certification under the LEED for Schools rating system. This project’s building systems are 45.6 percent more efficient than a conventional school, yielding a total annual energy savings of $95,244.
It’s not just educational projects that are eligible for incentive programs. One of our current projects, the Langlade Hospital Replacement Facility, is now being built in Antigo, Wis. We assisted this client in qualifying for $102,000 in similar funding. Construction on this 95,000-square-foot project, which is being built on the existing hospital campus, is underway. This new facility will replace an aging, 80-year-old building, and will provide the latest in advanced healthcare for residents of the Langlade County area when it is completed.
Image purchased from iStock.
