Did You Know...?

That Hines, the Houston-based office REIT, has teamed up with CalPERS, the mammoth California employee retirement fund, to create what they say is the first green office REIT. The fund will deploy as much as $500 million into developing office properties that meet the LEED CS (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Core and Shell) certification requirements.

While this may be the first all-LEED REIT, it is not the first REIT to be recognized for emphasizing energy-efficient and environmentally friendly design. Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, an investment advisory firm that specializes in socially responsible portfolio research, has recognized Arden Realty and Equity Office Properties for their efforts to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse emissions. Innovest research has found that the companies that rated in the top half of REITs for energy efficiency also did better in the financial markets. At the end of two years, their shares were 34% higher than those in the bottom half.

Hines and CalPERS have already announced the first property in their new portfolio. It is Tower 333 in Bellevue, Wash, which is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2007.

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