Episode 5: Green Building, Investment and Government Incentives

Viviana is pleased to speak with James Robert Sellinger about Green building, real estate investment, and the government incentives currently available in New York City.

Green building is a holistic concept that starts with the understanding that the built environment can have profound effects, both positive and negative, on the natural environment, as well as the people who inhabit buildings every day. Green building is an effort to amplify the positive and mitigate the negative effects throughout the entire life cycle of a building. 

Throughout her career in real estate and her years at NYU Schack graduate school it became crystal clear that a more holistic manner of understanding the built environment is paramount. That everyone can contribute to making the built environment healthier and more sustainable, especially government officials and institutions. Change is unavoidable and cannot wait any longer. The private sector has started investing in green building and sustainability because there is a universe of profitable opportunities in this arena. For the most part the cost differential is low, just around 5% for multifamily properties, and the market seems to be ready to cover that cost in order to build a healthier built environment for the community that inhabits it in the long term. 

During Viviana’s time at Cushman & Wakefield managing the NY Presbyterian portfolio, she experienced first hand the commitment of some in the private sector to be a part of this movement of forward thinkers who envision a greater future for New York City, and growing cities across the globe. Viviana invites her audience to also be a part of this movement, and hopes enough people and organizations join forces to make the world a better place. 

James Robert Sellinger Bio: Mr. Sellinger is a real estate executive with over 25 years experience in diverse institutional and entrepreneurial environments. James has a successful career in transactional commercial real estate and a track record in formulating creative financial structures within the capital, property and real estate asset markets. He has recently become interested in green housing and is involved in funding ground-up land development for senior housing properties as a Principal of SLD. James-Robert is also CFO and Partner in Built Environment, a benefits corporation committed to integrating sustainability and resiliency efforts to safeguard property, critical infrastructure and natural systems from the effects of climate change. As former Chairman of the Tenafly (NJ) Planning Board, he was instrumental in advocating its Green Agenda; sustainability and resilience efforts to alleviate storm water runoff. 

His past positions have included Manager and Senior Underwriter at Merrill Lynch Mortgage Capital, Senior Director at the hedge fund Palisades Financial, Mortgage Banker at Northmarq Capital, and Manager with AT & T Real Estate. He has a B.B.A from University of MA, Amherst; an M.B.A. from Cornell University. Mr. Sellinger is currently an Adjunct Professor in the graduate program at the Schack Real Estate Institute, New York University. 

 
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Episode 6: Unlocking Value from Sustainability in the Built Environment

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Episode 4: The Future of Podcasting