Brian Granetz.
Brian Granetz, 33
Commercial real estate development associate at Skanska
Although he now works in development, in his heart Brian Granetz still thinks like a mechanical engineer.
He spent much of his career working at AKF Group, an engineering firm that designs the utility and HVAC systems in some of the country’s largest buildings. Both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Syracuse University are in mechanical engineering, and he still has his professional engineering license.
In fact, his last major project as an MEP engineer opened earlier this year in New York City: He served as the senior mechanical engineer and assistant project manager for the construction of the 45-story Ritz-Carlton NoMad, which was designed by Rafael Viñoly. The 580-foot-tall tower opened last spring with 250 hotel rooms and condominium units, a rooftop bar, a spa and fitness center, and multiple restaurants.
During the pandemic, Granetz felt like he wanted to try something different. He started looking for work on the real estate side of the construction business, and landed a job last year with Skanska’s relatively small commercial development arm in Boston.
Right now he’s working on one of the largest all-electric buildings in Boston, a 28-story, 625,000-square-foot office tower at 380 Stuart Street in the Back Bay neighborhood. As an engineer, he’s able to use his understanding of carbon reduction and heating and cooling systems to help the construction team on the Stuart Street tower.
“I’m acting as a liaison between the engineers and Skanska USA Building,” he explained. “As the development world moves toward sustainable design, it’s never been more important to have engineers on staff. I’m able to fight for things that make sense, and I have the capital to innovate.”
Boston’s city government just rolled out a new energy code that requires buildings to reduce carbon emissions over the next few decades, similar to New York City’s Local Law 97. It also wants to force new projects to be net-zero, meaning that they produce as much energy as they use.
Granetz and Skanska hope to make 380 Stuart net-zero, using technology like air source heat pumps, energy recovery ventilation and airtight facades. Granetz even helped develop new energy-efficiency regulations on the state level by serving as a member of the technical committee for Massachusetts’ Stretch Energy Code. —R.B.R.
