STRATEGY
CLIMATE CONCERNS
Net-ZeroHousing A NEW PROJECT POISED TO TAKE A BITE OUT OF CLIMATE CHANGE
by Bruce McNeilage
y real estate investment career started small — a $9,800.00
realized I want to accomplish some- thing meaningful, beyond just build- ing affordable housing. I want to do what I can to combat climate change. Ambitious goal, right? We won’t solve it on our own, obviously. But, I will take my one bite out of this mon- umental global challenge. How? By developing Net-Zero housing. One of our soon-to-be announced projects will be an entire neighborhood of homes that make as much electricity on-site as they will consume. Truthfully, I’ve never really been an activist. I pay attention to politics
and world challenges, but for the most part, I plug away at my busi- ness and do my best to create value through the various projects we develop. That won’t change. What will change? Our commit- ment to sustainability. According to the experts, sustainability is a three- legged stool: the economy, soci- ety, and the environment. We know there’s a case to be made for sus- tainability in the real estate develop- ment world. Why does this mat- ter? According to a United Nations Environment Program Report, the energy used to build and operate our
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investment in a single-family rental home. From there, it has grown to include multiple projects, some scal- ing up to eight figures. The longer I have invested, the bigger the ideas. However, no matter how big the project, I’ve always kept one of my favorite lines in mind: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” This mantra helps me stay focused to do what I can each day to reach my goals. As I have thought about where my next project is headed, I
68 | think realty magazine :: september 2021
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