A spinoff of the BMW ReachNow system, this new car share program might be the next green tenant perk The Solaire, an LEED-certified, solar panel-covered apartment building on the southern tip of Manhattan in BatteryPark City, just burnished its green credentials by adding a new amenity. In partnership with BMW, the development will now offer four BMW i3 electric vehicles as part of a pilot car share program only accessible by tenants, the first in the nation. Designers hope the test will prove to be a potential model that can help other property owners help reduce congestion and pollution.
Launched on December 8, the trial is an extension of the automaker?s ReachNow program. Residents of the Solaire and neighboring Verdesian, which contain a total of 700 units, can use the system. The system offers convenient and sustainable urban mobility while potentially cutting parking minimums for developers, according to Paul Lipson, president of urban policy consulting firm Barretto Bay Strategies, and Adam Lubinsky, managing principal of WXY Architecture + Urban Design, who both helped create the model and introduce it to this complex.
The Solaire in Manhattan?s Battery Park neighborhood

?We found it was an ideal place, considering the orientation of the developers towards green and renewable technology, and the profile of the tenants,? says Lipson. ?With zero-emission vehicles and less parking spots, you layer in a great policy incentive that helps mit...