From Code to Cashflow: How Alexa Stone Helps Builders Unlock Incentives & Build Resilient Communitie

Quinton Comino: Today I'm sitting down with Alexa from Ecopreserve. What they do is connect the dots between the compliance requirements that the government has for sustainability—like green building—and the incentives that are available. They bring clarity on how to get into compliance and also how to reap the rewards, frankly, of some of these code requirements that the government has. For example, they can help builders access better loan rates for their customers, get tax credits, and take advantage of a bunch of different incentives that your typical builder just isn't aware of. It's often buried in code requirements that most builders don't have the time or expertise to dig into, leaving them sitting on benefits that could really make or break a deal.

EcoPreserve focuses on multifamily construction. It's going to be a quick interview jam-packed with information. So tune in and let's hear how Alexa is really changing the landscape for builders who might have thought they had to turn down a deal—but then, upon realizing these benefits, were able to make it work in the end.

Quinton Comino: So tell me, we have a supplier of manufactured homes—single wides and double wides—and they have an incentive they just started doing. It’s a hybrid water heater, I think, and they get some sort of credit from the government, like $2,500 if they do this water heater, but you have to have a heat pump. Something like that. Does that sound familiar with the sort of things you do?

Alexa Stone: It sounds familiar. It's not the sort of things that we do because we only work with multifamily. We don't work with individual residences. But it's still the same sort of idea—just on a larger scale.

Quinton Comino: Okay, so say again, you only work with...

Alexa Stone: We only work with multifamily developers in affordable housing or in senior housing. So those individual residential things you just mentioned wouldn't be something we'd look at, but we'd look at it from a whole-building standpoint.

Quinton Comino: Yeah. Okay. Yeah, and then you mentioned flooding things that are about to be passed. That sounds maybe more commercial.

Alexa Stone: It is for anything that is considered a critical building. So places that protect us—a sheriff's office, a hospital, a university, a school, water facilities—all of these are going to have to comply with the International Code Council's very recent approval for stronger flood protection standards.

Quinton Comino: Mm-hmm. I see. Mm.

Alexa Stone: Yeah, any sort of critical and community-serving building like that. Which makes a lot of sense because we all need to be safe. These buildings are critical. They have to be able to stay in operation during and after a flood, especially for vulnerable populations.

Quinton Comino: Yeah. So you have these codes that people have to come into compliance with. Does that mean if your building already exists it has to come into compliance, or is it for anything new that's built? How does that work?

Alexa Stone: For that one in particular, the International Code Council applies to buildings that are already built and new buildings. So if you recently built one—like a school, house, fire station—you're going to need to come up to the standard. We have a guy who goes out and specs exactly where you stand right now in relation to that code, then tells you exactly what you need to do to get up to code.

Quinton Comino: Okay. So it sounds like there are at least two things. One is you have to build to this code—no ifs, ands, or buts. And then the other is, hey, if you do this, there's an incentive. Is that right? How do you see that balanced with, "We need you to do this, we're going to twist your arm" versus "Here's a bonus if you do this"? Obviously I'd love everyone to build with 100% efficiency 100% of the time, but that’s not realistic.

Alexa Stone: You know, honestly, you and I both know it just makes sense to build something that's flood resilient, wind resilient. It just makes sense. If they don't do it, the cost of repair is so much higher than the cost of building right from the beginning. We try to bring that to people so they know. But we can do work even if it's already built. And sometimes there are very simple changes we can make so their critical systems like HVAC or IT don't get flooded.

Quinton Comino: Mm-hmm. Yeah. So do you have teams of engineers, or who do you have on your team to help bring some of these things into compliance? Because, you know, we have a building that was built in the '60s. I don't know the first thing about getting into compliance. I'd be looking to someone like you. I imagine you'd have to have a pretty outfitted team.

Alexa Stone: We do. We've got a lot of inspectors. We do assessments, inspections—we've been doing that for over a decade. That's exactly what we do. We can also look at the drawings if it isn't completed yet. But for a building like yours, we'll come right out and inspect it. We've got different standards we can inspect it to depending on what the client wants—ANSI standards, international standards. And it also depends on location. We're in Florida, so we're always thinking about flooding. But other people are thinking about wind, or fire. We can customize it, or do a holistic inspection that covers everything.

Quinton Comino: Yeah. So EcoPreserve was started in 2009. You had three employees. Where are you at now and what do you see for the future?

Alexa Stone: We're now at 20 employees. We've got such a phenomenal team because of the way things work now—you can really have the very best employees and they don't all have to be where we are in Florida. We're growing and finding more importance in what we do as it relates to safety and preventing risk with our clients. We're excited.

Quinton Comino: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Alexa Stone: I wish every building would look at its resilience before they built. I wish they'd look at resilience after they're built. It doesn't matter when—but we should be doing it. And when our inspectors come, they have a really good way of translating things so it makes sense to people.

Quinton Comino: Yeah. It's good. So in closing here, when people hear "inspectors," "compliance," "energy efficiency," "flooding risk mitigation," I imagine builders aren't just busting down the door wanting to do those sorts of things. There’s this sense of, "Ugh, I have to deal with lawyers, code changes, headaches." Which might be a misrepresentation of what it should be. Can you give us some insight into how our perspective should change? And how does EcoPreserve help show there's actually a benefit to these things?

Alexa Stone: Yes, you're right. It seems like a hassle, but it's so important. We come in and make it simple. We help translate the codes, the incentives. We can get them going on Resilience Best Practices—just put those in action. We want to make sure every project is safe and really future-proof. I think if people took a look at how much it's going to cost them if they *don't* do these things, they'd be compelled to do them. But human nature is to wait until it happens, then repair it the same way—which is not good from a risk standpoint, or for human lives, insurance, repair costs, or business downtime. We try to convey that to people.

Quinton Comino: Yeah. Exactly. What are some of those incentives that a builder might be sitting on and not even know it?

Alexa Stone: There's incentives from utility companies, tax credits, preferred loan terms. We have a stack of about six. You could say hundreds of thousands of dollars—and I'm really talking about multifamily here—but it's huge. It can make the difference between whether a project makes sense on paper or not.

Quinton Comino: Mm-hmm. Wow, really? Have you found some instances where that was really the case?

Alexa Stone: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Quinton Comino: Wow, that's incredible. So you stepped in and said, "Hey, this makes sense. Here's the incentive you’re going to get." Fantastic. I love that, Alexa. I appreciate your time. I know you've got a lot going on. If someone hears this and they’re interested in knowing about these incentives or want to get in touch, how should they reach out?

Alexa Stone: Just send an email to info@ecopreserve.net.

Quinton Comino: Awesome. Fantastic. Is there anything else you want to add?

Alexa Stone: You can also give everyone our website—it's ecopreserve.net. We're happy to help.

Quinton Comino: Yes. Fantastic. Well, thank you, Alexa. Thank you for your time, everyone. It's been great. It was quick, but that was a lot of information. If you're a builder out there—especially in multifamily—there are incentives that might make or break the deal for you. EcoPreserve can really help connect those dots. Thank you. We'll see you.

Alexa Stone: Thanks everybody. Stay safe.