Andrew Jubelt

Andy Jubelt is an experienced developer, owner and operator of commercial real estate, and a Principal at Avant Capital Partners, a real estate investment bank, advisory firm and correspondent lender for several institutional investors.

Avant Capital Partners was featured in the November Edition of the Scotsman Guide in an article titled “The Unsung Value of Energy Retrofits.”  According to the article, energy presents property owners and managers with the single largest operating expense in commercial office buildings. The author maintains that strategic reductions to operating costs through energy efficiency measures don’t only improve the bottom line, but they also develop positive branding of the property and increase occupancy demands.

Current loan underwriting practices provide little incentive for building owners to make their buildings more energy efficient, however. Because the burden of high energy costs often falls on the tenants, buildings with lower utility costs can garner more demand and higher rents, which will increase the property’s net operating income (NOI).

Energy Star, an international standard for energy efficient consumer products, calculates that a 10 percent decrease in energy use could lead to a 1.5 percent increase in NOI — profit that will continue to increase with further savings. There are two options that building owners can take to reduce energy costs in their buildings: low-cost measures and cost-effective investments.

This cost-effective investment strategy requires capital however, and although a market for energy-efficient capital investment has not been developed fully yet, government authorities have started initiatives. One organization in particular, the New York City Energy Efficiency Corp. (NYCEEC), has been established to assist New York City implement its “Greener, Greater Buildings Plan” by helping private building owners get energy-efficient retrofit financing.

Incorporating energy efficiency as part of the underwriting process is expected to take time, however. For now, property owners can seek out public organizations such as New York City Energy Efficiency Corp. (NYCEEC), participate in programs like Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) or reach out to private institutions that focus on providing capital for energy- efficiency investments.

Mr. Jubelt’s financing experience includes over $1,000,000,000 of both debt and equity funding from a variety of sources including traditional and private sources. He specialized in creative and innovative strategies to provide value-added services and enhance long-term value for numerous complex transactions. Contact Andrew Jubelt at ajubelt@avant-capital.com or (212) 231-9779 for more information on energy efficiency, finance, and policy.