(NEW YORK) — Hudson Square Properties, a joint venture of Trinity Church Wall Street and Norges Bank Investment Management with Hines the operating partner, announced today a new collaboration with Mesa, an easy-install kit that uses real-time data and automation to reduce energy waste and cost in commercial spaces. Mesa empowers building operators, facilities managers, and building owners to better manage and understand energy use in their space, while improving the tenant experience. Mesa is an energy solution developed by Sidewalk Labs, an urban innovation company.
Hines, a leader in sustainability since its founding, remains focused on these enhancements and their effect on the tenant experience. Deploying Mesa within the Hudson Square Properties portfolio provided the joint venture a unique opportunity to continue modernizing spaces housed in historic architectural buildings, offering tenants cutting-edge technology infrastructure that serves a dual purpose of lowering energy costs while advancing sustainability efforts, which can often be cost prohibitive. We expect to expand this program with more locations to follow in 2021.
“Technology is accelerating transformation across all business sectors, including real estate. As building owners, we have the important responsibility of providing healthy and sustainable spaces for our tenants,” said Michael Izzo, vice president of construction with Hines who is operating partner and joint venture owner at Hudson Square Properties. “We are dedicated to improving the tenant experience in our buildings and are excited to enter this partnership, providing both the necessary technical and financial support as we work toward achieving these goals.”
In general, New York City commercial office buildings make up 15% of floor area but account for nearly 30% of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. Even during the pandemic, when many are working remotely and building occupancy has reduced 95%, energy consumption has not seen a huge inflection. In response, at least 31 cities have passed new laws setting energy benchmarks or reporting mandates for office buildings and commercial spaces, with 15 cities now requiring energy permanence targets. In NYC, Local Laws 95 and 97 are requiring buildings to reduce emissions and post their energy efficiency letter grade publicly. Even though much energy is consumed by tenants, landlords are responsible to comply with fines and grades on the building. Commercial landlords and tenants want to do their part, but today's energy management technology is often prohibitively expensive, hard to install, and challenging to integrate with existing programs and systems.
Mesa leverages the use of Norway’s Disruptive Technologies tiny wireless sensors, capturing the office environment providing relevant contextual information (e.g., room temperature and humidity) to the backend optimization algorithms, often dynamically controlling HVAC and plug loads via smart devices. It provides facilities managers and tenants with insights and real-time information about the office spaces.
Mesa’s sensor suite collects energy data about office spaces in a privacy-preserving way, and its proprietary software optimizes energy use on HVAC and plug loads based on the better understanding of the office space, all while taking into account tenant comfort. Every Mesa kit comes with an easy, clearly labeled, installation guide and pre-commissioned devices, ensuring the setup process is simple. Mesa's proprietary software optimizes energy use based on several data patterns, including temperature, humidity, occupancy, and weather. It also uses feedback on temperature and energy from tenants and building operators to account for individual preferences. As part of the Mesa release, the software provides the building operator/owner with a dashboard to see energy data in real time, follow patterns over time (including tenant comfort), view Mesa’s energy-efficiency actions, and manage devices remotely.
“The Hines standards set the bar, and we are thrilled to join them in this endeavor, as we remain aligned on our goals of sustainability and overall comfort. When we created Mesa, we sought to install with not only world-class partners but also local companies across the country. We truly appreciate all the valued support from the Hines team to make this a success," said Rachel Steinberg, Director of Product Management at Sidewalk Labs. "Mesa has been approved by the Hines team for its natural ease of install and functionality, while remaining sleek and tenant-focused in its design and appearance. We appreciate the support of Hines and look forward to continuing our partnership in the upcoming year.”
About Sidewalk Labs
Sidewalk Labs is an urban innovation company working to make cities more sustainable and affordable for all. We create products, invest in new companies, and help plan innovative places around the world. Headquartered in New York, the Mesa team is composed of a team of experts highly focused on building the most advanced digital layer for buildings. Visit mesa.sidewalklabs.com for more information.
About Hines
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 225 cities in 25 countries. Hines has approximately $144.1 billion¹ of assets under management, including $75.5 billion for which Hines serves as investment manager, including non-real estate assets, and $68.6 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services. The firm has 165 developments currently underway around the world. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,426 properties, totaling over 472 million square feet. The firm’s current property and asset management portfolio includes 576 properties, representing over 246 million square feet. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a pioneering commitment to sustainability, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information. ¹AUM includes both the global Hines organization as well as RIA AUM.
About Hudson Square Properties
Hudson Square Properties is a joint venture of Trinity Church Wall Street and Norges Bank Investment Management with Hines, the operating partner, of a 12-building portfolio of approximately 6 million square feet. Ideally situated in the heart of lower Manhattan bordered by Soho, Tribeca, and the West Village, Hudson Square has become the destination for thought leaders and innovators across a vast array of high-profile tech, media, and advertising companies drawn by the energy of this vibrant neighborhood and the flexibility of the space. Visit www.hudsonsquareproperties.com for more information.
