Powering Up at Pietra Apartments

Owners invest in the sun to power the property

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Aug 01, 2011, 04:15 ET

PHOENIX, Aug. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --In a day and age when businesses are working toward being sustainable, a Phoenix apartment community is using the Arizona sun to generate power. Owners of Pietra Luxury Apartments has just completed the installation of a 47,000 watt solar array which is generating power throughout the common areas of the community, such as the leasing office, pool area and club house. The investment is expected to save approximately 75% on energy expenses.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110801/PH45092 )

Westplan Investors and Wood Partners, joint venture owners of the community initiated the project and made the investment to help the environment while adding value to their asset. Mark-Taylor Residential manages the community and worked closely with the installment team since the project began last month. The array will generate over 75,000 kilo watt hours annually, and owners expect to save a minimum of $20,000 per year, not including tax benefits.

"We are always striving to reduce our carbon footprint, and given the power of the Arizona sun, we saw a great opportunity to use solar energy to generate power for common areas of our building," said Ewoud Swaak of Westplan Investors. "Now, our carports keep cars cool while powering our community," he said.

Through the collaborative efforts of West Plan Investors, Wood Partners and Mark-Taylor Residential, the project was completed in just a few short weeks.

APS helped make the solar array more affordable by providing financial rebates through the APS Renewable Energy Incentive Program. The program offers rebates to customers who add renewable energy systems to their homes or business.

"We have been told by our customers that they want more solar," said Eran Mahrer, APS' Director of Renewable Energy. "By adding solar, the owners of Pietra Luxury Apartments are showing that they are responsive to their tenant's desires."

Renewvia Energy Corp (www.renewvia.com) was retained to build out the project which took approximately 6 weeks.

"The panels chosen for this project are American made, which means they abide by strict manufacturing emission guidelines not required by some overseas manufactures, negating much of the clean energy benefit," said Trey Jarrard, Renewvia's Chief Operating Officer.

"A project like this is attractive to the owner and eventual buyer of an apartment community; the net operating income improves and the majority of the array cost is recouped within the first year and of course it's more environmentally friendly," he said.

Renewvia is becoming more active in the multifamily industry, and have developed solar arrays in multiple states including Arizona.

ABOUT WESTPLAN INVESTORS

Westplan (www.westplan.com) is a privately held company that owns and manages a retail portfolio of approximately 1,000,000 square feet and twenty six apartment properties with more than 8,500 units.

ABOUT WOOD PARTNERS

Wood Partners is a national real estate company that acquires, develops, constructs and property manages high density and mixed-use communities. Through quality construction, responsible land development and intelligent design, our communities reflect the aesthetic and social fabric of the community and provide a luxurious living experience at a fair price. The company has been involved in the development of more than 36,000 homes with a combined value of more than $4.5 billion nationwide. To learn more about Wood Partners, please visit our website at www.woodpartners.com

ABOUT RENEWVIA ENERGY

Renewvia Energy powers businesses. Our solar power plants, installed on the rooftops and parking lots of commercial and industrial properties, allow owners and developers to lower their power costs, go green, and protect against future rate increases.

ABOUT MARK-TAYLOR RESIDENTIAL

Mark-Taylor Residential is a management company of more than 14,000 luxury apartment communities in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. For more information about Mark-Taylor Residential, visit www.mark-taylor.com. Contact Dale Phillips to discuss management opportunities, 480-991-9111.

CONTACT: Kim Atkinson
Mark-Taylor Residential, [email protected]
480-991-9111

SOURCE Mark-Taylor Residential