City of Houston - Property Tax Abatement for Green Commercial Buildings (Texas)

Summary

Last modified on February 12, 2015.

Financial Incentive Program

Place	Texas
Name	City of Houston - Property Tax Abatement for Green Commercial Buildings
Incentive Type	Property Tax Incentive
Applicable Sector	Commercial
Eligible Technologies	Comprehensive Measures/Whole Building, Passive Solar Space Heat, Solar Water Heat, Solar Space Heat, Photovoltaics, Wind, Biomass, Geothermal Heat Pumps, Daylighting, Small Hydroelectric
Active Incentive	Yes
Implementing Sector	Local
Energy Category	Renewable Energy Incentive Programs, Energy Efficiency Incentive Programs
Amount	LEED Basic “Certified” Level: 1.0% LEED Silver Level: 2.5% LEED Gold Level: 5.0% LEED Platinum Level: 10%
Equipment Requirements	Must be LEED certified Must be new construction
Expiration Date	2016-03-26
Program Administrator	Economic Development Division of the City Finance Department
References	DSIRE

Summary

In September 2009, the City of Houston Tax Abatement Program was enacted (Ordinance No. 2009-858), establishing a partial tax abatement for U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified commercial buildings. Since its inception, the tax abatement has been renewed twice, most recently in 2014 (Ordinance No. 2014-245).

Abatement Amount

The Ordinance specifies the abatement as follows:

“If the owner of a new or refurbished commercial facility has registered with the U.S. Green Building Council seeking LEED Certification, then the Economic Development Division…may recommend approval by the City Council of a partial tax abatement for the incremental investment associated with obtaining such certification. The agreement shall be effective up to 10 years, at a percentage based upon the level of certification actually obtained after completion of construction or refurbishment:

• Basic “Certified” Level: 1.0%
• Silver Level: 2.5%
• Gold Level: 5.0%
• Platinum Level: 10%”

Minimum Investment Requirement

The LEED building tax abatement can be a stand-alone abatement or part of a standard economic development tax abatement. If used as a stand-alone tax abatement, the minimum investment requirement to be eligible for the partial tax abatement is:

• $1 million for an investment in a commercial structure that achieves Platinum LEED Certification,
• $2 million for an investment in a commercial structure that achieves Gold LEED Certification,
• $4 million for an investment in a commercial structure that achieves Silver LEED Certification, and
• $10 million for an investment in a commercial structure that achieves basic LEED Certification.

Incentive Contact

Contact Name	Gwendolyn Tillotson
Department	City of Houston
Division	Finance Department: Economic Development Division
Address	901 Bagby St., 4th Floor
Place	Houston, Texas
Zip/Postal Code	77002
Phone	(832) 393-0937
Email	gwendolyn.tillotson@houstontx.gov
Website	http://www.houstontx.gov/ecodev/index.html

Authorities (Please contact the if there are any file problems.)

Authority 1:	Article IV § 44-131
Date Enacted	2009-09-16

Authority 2:	Houston1.pdf Ordinance No. 14-245
Date Effective	2014-03-26
Date Enacted	2014-03-26
Expiration Date	2016-03-26

• Incentive and policy data are reviewed and approved by the N.C. Solar Center's DSIRE project staff.