Pillsbury attorney Rob James recently contributed to a report by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute detailing the Value for Money (VfM) provisions of the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The report describes how large-scale public works that are eligible for structuring as a public-private partnership (PPP) should be reviewed for potential use of alternative project delivery methods, including PPPs. Pillsbury illustrated the California eligibility statutes in the comprehensive Gravel2Gavel post and chart, cited in the report and available here.
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up 01/19/22
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Habitat for Humanity builds the nation’s first 3D-printed house, the White House announces infrastructure spending plans for 2022, commercial real estate firms are left to determine their vaccination mandates, and more.
Tension Over Municipal Gas Bans Creates Uncertainty for Real Estate Developers
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On November 15, 2021, the New York City Council approved a bill banning gas hookups in new buildings, making the biggest city in the U.S. the latest in a string of municipalities to prohibit natural gas infrastructure in new homes and buildings. In the two-and-a-half years since Berkeley, California, passed its then-novel municipal ban on new natural gas infrastructure, numerous cities have found themselves at odds with state governments and industry groups on the issue of full electrification in residential and commercial real estate. The resulting disputes, litigation and regulatory uncertainty have created headaches for the real estate industry. Although not all view the restrictions as negative, and many developers have embraced the push for more climate-neutral buildings, these bans introduce complexity to the real estate market, raising additional legal and commercial challenges.
California Statutes Authorizing Public-Private Partnership Contracting
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Public-private partnerships are often cited as a key pathway to restoring and enhancing the nation’s infrastructure. They can be challenging arrangements to structure. (As a result of the pandemic, they have even suffered the indignity of having their “PPP” acronym coopted by the Paycheck Protection Program. With apologies to Small Business Administration practitioners, we use “PPP” in this article to refer to the infrastructure tool.)
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up 01/12/22
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China’s real estate market continues to face difficulty, Biden’s infrastructure development plans for the U.S. involve rehabilitation versus sweeping national buildouts, the value proposition of real estate in the metaverse is questioned, and more.
The G2G Year in Review: 2021
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With 2021 now behind us, we wanted to share our top five most-read articles of 2021 from Gravel2Gavel. The most-read blog posts covered real estate and construction industry trends ranging from Proptech, smart construction, COVID-eviction moratoriums, and blockchain tokenization.
Throughout the year, G2G posts provided deep industry insight and summarized hot topics addressing the legal implications and disruptions that affected the market, and we will continue to expand on these insights in 2022. Our 2021 roundup:
- Blockchain Innovations and Real Estate: NFTs, DeFis and dApps by Craig A. de Ridder
- Washington, DC’s COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium Expires by Amanda G. Halter and Adam J. Weaver
- Operating an Adult-Use Cannabis Business in New York: Licensing and Considerations for Landlords and Tenants by Caroline A. Harcourt, Brian H. Montgomery, and Adam J. Weaver
- Smart Construction and the Future of the Construction Industry by Caroline A. Harcourt and Adam J. Weaver
- Smart Technology in Commercial Real Estate by Rachel Newell
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up 01/05/22
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Commercial real estate trends are forecasted for 2022, proptech startups strategize the use of the $32 billion of venture capital raised last year, real estate sales in Manhattan break 30-year records, and more.
A Year-End Review of the Environmental Regulatory Landscape
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Anne Austin recently joined Industry Insights host Joel Simon to discuss the key considerations and drivers of the Biden administration’s major regulatory initiatives.
Our guest today is Anne Idsal Austin, a nationally recognized environmental lawyer who has held several high-profile federal and state regulatory roles. As a partner who recently joined Pillsbury’s environmental and natural resources practice, she provides strategic consulting and policy advice, helping clients navigate the dynamic regulatory and legal waters in an era of energy transition, decarbonization and an emphasis on ESG principles. Prior to joining Pillsbury, Anne was the Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Air and Radiation, known as OAR or OAR, where she had primary oversight over United States clean air policy and regulation. Prior to that, she served as the EPA regional administrator for Region 6, overseeing all federal environmental programs in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Prior to joining EPA, Anne held several positions where she shaped environmental and energy policy at the highest levels of government in the state of Texas. Welcome to our podcast, Anne.
Anne Austin: Thanks so much. It’s great to be here today, Joel.
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up 12/15/21
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Proptech and digital real estate are poised for growth in 2022, millennials continue to supercharge the housing market, real estate brokers and agents can leverage gaming technology to showcase property, and more.
Environmental Regulatory Provisions Embedded in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
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With the enactment of this important legislation, its impact on environmental regulation and policy will be carefully analyzed by the regulated community. Such a review may be hampered by the fact that the law is not only complex but also very long (over 2000 pages!). The Infrastructure Act is mostly an appropriations and authorization law, but it includes many new policy choices. This is a brief review (which can only scratch the surface of this law) of some of the many environmentally related provisions, which are part of this new law and can be located in the pdf version of the law.