Presented by Katelyn Wright, Greater Syracuse Land Bank Executive Director Mike Gable, Construction Junction Executive Director Winnie Branton, Esq., Branton Strategies LLC Homes Within Reach Conference November 16, 2015

Promoting Conservation through the Reuse of Building Materials Founded by Pennsylvania Resources Council in Budget $2.2 million 35,000 square foot retail facility 20,000 square foot warehouse and processing area.

Building material reuse nonprofits, LEED rated projects and construction waste recycling facilities are demonstrating that significant quantities of C& D waste can be reused and recycled

Diversion of Used & Surplus Building Materials Public Retail Sales Expanded Infrastructure for Reuse & Recycling Partnerships Job Training Partnerships CJ Re-Gives

Total Income Composition

What is Deconstruction? It is simply building in reverse (or unbuilding) and salvaging materials for reuse Ranges from soft strip (removal of useable items: sinks, trim, doors, windows) to full building disassembly. CJ does primarily soft strip based on value of materials to be salvaged. Must cover costs.

Responsible for up to 15% of CJ inventory value Operating since 2003 Experienced 3 person staff Excellent safety record Non- structural salvage No charge for service (contractual obligation upon request ) Experience with residential, commercial and institutional projects of varying sizes Fully insured ($2,000,000) Provide client with liability release form (hold harmless and indemnifies client)

Early project identification is key to success Material list developed to be included into project specifications Or used to develop bid scope for demolition contractors Material list approved by client prior to work commencing Site planning and scheduling (timing interior & exterior ) Material removal with CJ crew and supplemented with Goodwill or Trade Institute of Pittsburgh trainee labor Final inventory receipt to client

Cabinets and casework Lab Cabinets Countertops (non-abestos) Carpet squares Lockers Ceiling Tiles (good to excellent condition) Light fixtures (some limitations) Plumbing fixtures (some limitations) Dorm and school furniture Office furniture – File cabinets, chairs, desks (no particle board) Always review items first with CJ!

Cost-most blighted properties are demolished by Municipalities – Must use a competitive bid process and accept the lowest bidder – The lowest bidder will never be deconstruction Access to properties before demolition to soft strip. – Municipalities cannot grant access to blighted properties before demolition contract is awarded due to lack of title to property – Must negotiate access with demolition contractor – CJ incentivizes small contractors with 10% of material value salvaged from blighted properties before demolition

Cost issues: Land bank has title to property so no obligation to take lowest bidder for demolition as a result Land banks can maximize environmental and social benefits – Pursue Job training partnerships with support of private grants and government job training programs. CJ deconstruction programs work with Goodwill and the Trade Institute of Pittsburgh to provide paid training opportunities to work on deconstruction projects. – Pursue partnerships with building material reuse stores as an outlet for salvaged material sales Long term success is dependent upon having a partnership with an established building material reuse store with access to a broad market. – Potential to provide tax benefits for deconstructing contractor who donate materials to build material nonprofits

Deconstruction of Blighted Properties 2014 Pilot Program

Why Deconstruction? Environmental Sustainability – Recycle instead of landfill Job Skills Training Opportunity – Teaching people construction skills by deconstructing existing buildings Job Creator – Requires more labor hours than traditional demo Economic Development Opportunity – Value in Architectural Salvage and Materials Salvage

2014 Pilot Project Identified six of our demo candidates for this program Goal to divert as much material from the landfill as possible RFP showed preference for local job creation and/or job skills training component Hired a local consultant with experience in deconstruction to advise us and the winning bidders Hoped to establish the value of the materials and a local market for the materials through this pilot

RFP Scoring Matrix Up to X points: Proposal Component: 30Cost 25Appropriateness of plan for reuse of materials and percentage of materials to be diverted from landfill/incineration 15Safety: Demonstration that all workers will have appropriate safety training prior to beginning work, adequacy of work-site safety plan, knowledge of structural systems and ability to anticipate and plan for structural challenges 10Demonstrated knowledge of local, state, and federal regulations regarding demolition/deconstruction 20 Economic and Workforce Development: Consideration will be given to proposals that include MWBE Certified contractors (See Section VI below), that utilize job skills trainees, and/or generate additional economic activity due to the way in which materials are reused (i.e. upcycling rather than recycling in a way that creates more local jobs)

Questions that arose What about lead paint? What about other environmental hazards, PCBs, mercury, etc.? What to do with the building foundation? – Infill the basement hole? – Does the weight of the foundation count toward diversion rate?

Outcomes – Created six (6) new, permanent jobs (in salvage operations, artisan furniture-making and selective demolition) and employed at least twenty-four (24) local residents during the deconstruction pilot – Generated $20, in preliminary sales (as of January 2015) of salvaged materials including oak flooring, siding and bricks (with revenues retained and the materials reinstalled locally) – Diverted 63.5% by weight (on average) of the six (6) houses from landfills and incinerators (greater than 90+% when foundations and concrete slabs are included) – Generated tons (425,600 pounds) in construction materials – Salvaged 76, lineal feet of beams, dimensional lumber, trim, flooring, siding and wood products (sufficient lumber to conservatively construct at least three or four new homes) – Contributed raw materials to two (2) local entrepreneurial businesses – Generated more than $79,000 in wages for local workers

Costs

Obstacles Lead and Asbestos Asbestos must be remediated prior to deconstruction (NY DOL) Lead doesn’t have to be: EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (“RRP Rule”) concerning handling and disposal of Lead Based Paint (“LBP”) applies to all renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb paint in pre-1978 housing, but it does not apply to the demolition of an entire property. Additionally, according to the Building Materials Reuse Association, the USEPA has advised it that if deconstruction or salvaging activities occur in conjunction with the total demolition of the property, the RRP Rule does not apply. Additionally, components removed for reuse during the course of salvaging are not considered “waste”, even if salvaging occurs as part of a renovation rather than a demolition so the Rule’s disposal provisions would not apply to salvaged items. EPA suggests that “reuse stores” label suspect items such as old windows, etc. that they may contain lead, educate their staff about lead hazards, and provide outreach materials to customers. EPA also recommends that re-use stores assume the presence of LBP in pre-1978 residential building materials, or have the materials tested.

Another lead paint issue Deconstruction has been shown to leave less lead in the soil once the house is gone

Obstacles A market for the materials: Our contractors donated all the materials to a local 501(c)3 taking a tax-deduction. They took this into account when bidding the job. The 501(c)3 reports that they have sold almost everything. The question remains: is the potential retail value of the materials sufficient to warrant a private contractor spending x in additional labor to remove, store, and re-sell the materials.

Resources Albany Land Bank’s salvage program Private-market driven deconstruction Next Steps Syracuse Land Bank deconstruction RFP Syracuse Land Bank’s deconstruction contract Final Report on our 2014 Pilot Program