DWS works with city stakeholders to see that climate issues are being addressed community-wide and engages with other large property owners.
“We also look at the building itself: at the energy footprint and the water usage compared to other buildings in the area,” she says. “Data like that on property is much easier to get today than it was 10 years ago.”
Eric Malley, founder and CEO of MG Capital Management, a private equity real estate manager that invests in Class A real estate in Manhattan, says it is important to consider the construction of buildings in order to protect investments in the future.
“We have a fiduciary responsibility to take climate change seriously,” Malley says. “We have to take action to preserve and protect” the property and the investment.
MG consults on new projects that are being built. All mechanical equipment has to be on the third floor. Generators have to be in place to make sure elevators keep working in an emergency. And generating systems that can withstand multiple leaks have to be there. For older buildings, there are now systems that can help protect electrical and mechanical equipment that is located in basements.
“We had people displaced for six to 12 months after Sandy because there were no working elevators,” Malley says. “We’re moving in the right direction as the climate changes right before our eyes.”