News
A Lawyer on the Roof
September 30, 2010
| Some lawyers wear white shoes, others rub shoulders with people accused of being on the wrong side of the law, but few spend as much time on rooftops as the project management team at Prince Lobel Glovsky & Tye. In a new practice, Prince Lobel Renewables, the firm is managing the development of renewable energy projects. |
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| Exhibit A is Prince Lobel Renewables? project manager Adam Braillard overseeing construction of a 199 KW solar-energy system being built for landlord Bill Rogers at 50 Eastern Ave. in Chelsea. The project started nine months ago and eight weeks of construction is slated for completion Oct. 20. Bill is a Prince Lobel client who used the firm for traditional real estate matters like negotiating acquisitions and leases. Now, he's hired them to manage the development of the solar array from start to finish. Rogers has renovated the 40k SF industrial building over the past few years and figures that having his own solar-energy source will save money on power. Meanwhile his tenants, Lowell Brothers & Bailey and Worldwide Perishables, hope to reduce their carbon footprint. |
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| We snapped Craig Tateronis, who leads Prince Lobel Renewables, conferring with Nicole DeAntonis. Craig says the firm started the practice last year to focus on renewable-energy installations. His team runs projects from ?soup to nuts.? They help developers find sites, negotiate acquisition terms, conduct permitting, regulatory compliance, find the financial incentives available, and oversee the delivery of architectural and engineering services. Unusual for law firms, they also manage construction: They run the sub-contractor bid process and make sure jobs are done on time, within budget. The firm first dipped a toe into project management in ?07 (don't you hate when a party goes into a recession right after you show up?) when long time client, T-Mobile, asked them to become its development manager on wireless facilities installations. |
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| We snapped other lawyers on the team: Anne Grant, Brian Grossman, and Rick Sousa with Craig. They're prospecting for new projects and have about 60 in the development stage, Craig says. They also help run some of Prince Lobel?s current jobs, usually in the $1M to $8M range. For instance, they just landed an assignment to manage the development of a solar array at the Worcester Business Center LLC, a 250k SF former shoe factory in Worcester that was converted into an office building. U Mass Medical Center and the Mass Department of Revenue have leased space. The landlord, Worcester Business Center, wants to take advantage of state and federal renewable energy incentives such as accelerated depreciation, investment tax credits, and state clean energy rebates. |
