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Redevelopment, energy conservation lead Green Coast Enterprises’ work

Andrew Valenti, Reporter//May 24, 2016//

Redevelopment, energy conservation lead Green Coast Enterprises’ work

Andrew Valenti, Reporter//May 24, 2016//

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Green Coast Enterprises began in April of 2007 after president and co-founder Will Bradshaw worked for a small nonprofit in North Carolina.

Photo courtesy of Green Coast Enterprises
Photo courtesy of Green Coast Enterprises

Bradshaw saw that the affordability of housing and environmental performance of the development industry in that state was slipping faster than his company could do the work to improve it. After moving to New Orleans, he noticed the same problems.

“The sense that we could take better care of community and culture through the development process and through the process of the creation and recreation of the built environment is what really inspired Green Coast,” he said.

Green Coast participates in energy conservation in all of its development and redevelopment projects by improving building performance and identifying actionable measures that property managers can take to reduce utility expenditures as well as building energy efficient housing in the city.

One example of Green Coast’s work is when the company recommended the seller of a raised-basement home on Tonti Street spend $12,000 on ductless HVAC mini splits. This added $100,000 in the home’s value because the square footage grew from 75 percent to 100 percent on the downstairs.

GCE Services operates under Green Coast Enterprises’ umbrella. It has a contract with the city of New Orleans and has audited all city buildings to increase their durability and make them more energy efficient. It also does work with the charter school system in the city, where it saved $60,000 at Andrew H. Wilson charter school and manages energy systems at 15 other schools.

“I don’t care how efficient your system is,” Bradshaw said. “The buildings aren’t performing in an optimal way. Most schools don’t have the energy management expertise to appropriately monitor a complex facility. We go into facilities like these.”

Green Coast Enterprises has diversified its portfolio over the years to become the city’s only “Community Resilience Company,” according to the company’s website. GCE Services, GCE Green Development and Green Coast Realty all fall under its umbrella.

Green Coast Enterprises broke ground on the old Pythian building at 234 Loyola Ave. and is in the process of converting it into 69 apartments with 20,000 square feet of commercial and retail space. The renovation is expected to be completed this fall.

The company has also been at the heart of the redevelopment at the intersection of Washington Avenue and South Broad Street where it finished the construction of four buildings in April 2013. Tenants include Propeller, South Broad Community Health and Laurel Street Bakery. Financing for the project was a mix of public and private investors and New Markets Tax Credits, federal Historic Tax Credits and Louisiana Historic Tax Credits.

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