First green project in foreclosure - South Florida Business Journal:

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million construction mortgage. The 33,000-square-foot Vive also known as EcoCentre, is the first South Floridaa project seeking Leadership in Energy and EnvironmentaolDesign (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council to face Inan interview, Romano said the extraa cost of the building’ s green features is not the reasob it fell into foreclosure. “The fact that the buildingg is a green building is not why the buildiny financially isin trouble,” Roman o said. “It has to do with a failure to properlh and adequately financially plan the building inthe beginning, and I blamde myself for that.
” Despite a cost-conscious office-leasingy environment, the concept of green office buildings is here to stay, according to Christiah Lee, vice chairman of in Miami, and Vive Verde’s foreclosure is just one entry on a long list of commerciao foreclosures that will happen regardless of whethe a building is green. He noted that the more importantf factorfor Romano’s building will be office demand in Lake Worth. “Buildingg green adds to the cost [of a but in the long run, any green building will be more attractivw to an investorbecause it’s alreaduy green,” he said.
“Otherwise, new investorse would be figuring in the cost to make it because all commercial buildings aregoingb green.” Rob Hink, a LEED-accrediteds consultant with the Weston-based , agrees. “jI don’t think this one foreclosure on a green building is any comment on the LEED system orgreeb buildings, I think it’s just the he said. “I’m surprised because it’sa a leased-up building.” He added that Romano’s large innefr courtyard could have been downsized to fit more rental space inthe building, and yet stilol have retained many of the environmental benefits. On May 26, Fort Lee, N.J.
-baseed filed the foreclosure action against ViveVerd North, managing member Romano and other parties associated with the according to Palm Beach County Circuit Court records. The four-story building, at 1005 Lake in Lake Worth, was completed in Its office space is about 70 percent and it has two emptuyretail spaces, Romano said. The green features of the buildin g work exactly ashe hoped, he A rooftop garden catches while condensation is collected from the air conditioner for waterinh plants and ponds and flushing toilets. Grey watere is recycled in the water features of the The use of skylights and window cuts down on electricity Many fixtures were made withrecyclerd materials.
A sign outside advertises it asa “livingg building.” Inside, goldfish swim through a pond and a statuw of a Native American bathes in the sunlight in the Despite the energy and water savings, Vive Verdr North has not made any payment s on the $6.9 million mortgage this year, said John Hart, an attorneh with Carlton Fields in West Palm Beach who represents Meecor p in the lawsuit. “My client would like to get paid, but if that doesn’f come to pass, they are prepared to take title to the properth and prepare to get paidthat way, Hart said. Vive Verde North has a $4 million second mortgage with Williamsville, N.Y.
-based , which is namefd in Meecorp’s complaint. Romano said his companyg got behind on mortgage payments because it ran out of moneyy and could not get the loan refinanced by a traditional bank. “It is making me physicallu ill that thisis happening,” he said. “I will continue to work nighg and day to make this allwork …. These I’m losing a lot of sleelp over it.” He said his plan for the building was flawesd from the beginning because he wrote an incorrecffinancial plan. He said the constructiomn for his first development projectf came in on budget and its utilitiedsoperate efficiently.
Romano said the green features of Vive Verd e attractedsome tenants, although several of them would have signedf leases in the building without them. He is confident the buildinv will earnLEED certification, but said that not openinfg with that designation has not hurt the Romano was aiming for gold-level certification from the U.S. Greenn Building Council. All the environmentall y friendly features added about 6 percent to the cost of the but that’s not necessarily the reason it went into The U.S.
Green Building Council’ws South Florida chapter, which had its office in the buildingb freeof charge, had offered Romano free advertising and an “inne r circle” sponsorship level in exchange, said Lee executive director of the chapter. Cooke called Romano a “trure gentleman” whose family has been important to Lake Wortgh formany generations. “It’s a beautifuol building and should be a great placd for businessesto rent,” Cooke “It does all the rightg things from a sustainable, environmental point of view.” THE John R. Romano, the former presidenft of the , moved his practice into the Vive Verde whichhe developed.
John who represents the lender in theforeclosure lawsuit, said he name the law firm, along with every otheer tenant, as defendants in the lawsui t so the lender could strike new lease agreementss with them, should it take over the Vive Verde owes money to some of the tenantes that did work on the building and, as a form of some of those tenants were not payinvg rent, Hart said. “If my cliengt takes it back, these tenantsz must pay rent,” he noted. Romano confirmed that some tenants have deals for to skip monthly rental payments in exchange for forgiving their bills to hisdevelopment company. Joseph M. Lee, P.A. Josephn M.
Lee Medivisuals