The Missouri Department of Economic Development has approved four St. Louis projects for a total of $2,539,070 in Brownfield Redevelopment tax credits. The credits will be used to renovate and rehabilitate contaminated commercial or industrial sites that are abandoned or underutilized.

Tudor Retail Partners, LLC - up to $216,324 in remediation tax credits to redevelop the Tudor Building at 1901-1933 Washington Ave. into retail and commercial office space, creating 65 jobs. The property is proposed as “blighted” by the city of St. Louis and is under a proposed redevelopment plan. Over 90 percent of the building has not been occupied for at least 10 years.

1911 Locust Partners, LLC, - remediation tax credits for up to $592,340 to redevelop a two-story commercial warehouse building at 1911 Locust St. and a vacant lot at 1921 Locust St. into residential, retail and commercial office space, creating 53 jobs. The building has been underutilized for at least 10 years and the lot at 1921 Locust St. has been abandoned for over 30 years.

MB Lofts, LLC - up to $1,424,818 in remediation tax credits to redevelop the Metropolitan Building, 500 North Grand Blvd. into hotel, retail and commercial office space, creating a projected 102 jobs. The 97,078 square foot building has been vacant for at least five years.

1426 Washington Avenue, LLC - remediation tax credits up to $305,588 to redevelop the Monkey Building Building, 1426-1430 Washington Ave. into retail and commercial office space, creating 87 jobs. The 30,000 square foot building has been underutilized for at least 10 years and has been occupied only by an 800 square foot real estate office in recent years.

Better architecture and energy savings in buildings could do more to fight global warming than all curbs on greenhouse gases agreed to under the UN’s Kyoto Protocol, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Sustainable Construction and Building Initiative (SBCI).

The built environment accounts for 30% to 40 % of global energy use, and the right mix of technologies, behavioural change and government regulation could make a huge impact on reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The report estimates that by 2010, more than one-fifth of present energy consumption could be saved by applying more ambitious standards to new and existing buildings.

Since 80% of a building’s energy consumption occurs after it’s built, building design and systems are extremely important. Some solutions include sun shading, natural ventilation, improved insulation, recycled building materials, intelligent lighting and ventilation systems, low temperature heating and cooling systems, energy saving appliances, and energy pricing and financial incentives.

Some countries are considering a phase-out or ban of incandescent light bulbs, which would save 470 million tons of CO2 - more than half the reductions called for by the Kyoto Treaty.