City of Friendswood - Property Tax Abatement for Green Commercial Buildings

Summary

The City of Friendswood offers a tax abatement for U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified commercial buildings located within the city. Applicants must register their projects with the USGBC before submitting an application to the City. Tax abatement agreements must be approved by the City Council, and the agreement is effective for up to 10 years once the agreement has been approved. The actual tax abatement benefit will not begin until the building department issues a Certificate of Occupancy and the LEED certification is awarded.

In order to qualify, the applicant must invest at least $100,000 towards achieving LEED certification.  In addition, a minimum investment in the building is required and depends on the certification level:

• Basic Certification: $10 million investment
• Silver Certification: $4 million investment
• Gold Certification: $2 million investment
• Platinum Certification $1 million investment

The imputed LEED-related values for the different certification levels are as follows:

• Basic LEED Certified: 1.0%
• LEED Silver Certified: 2.5%
• LEED Gold Certified: 5.0%
• LEED Platinum Certified: 10%

The actual abatement value will be calculated based on the appraised value of the building after the LEED certification is obtained. Eligible property includes buildings, structures, fixed machinery and equipment, site improvements, and the office space and fix improvements necessary to facility operation and administration.

Harris County and the City of Houston offers a similar tax abatement incentive.