NEWH - March 2009 - (Page 30)

sustainability case study LEEDing the way A case study featuring the Nines tells a story worth repeating By Glenn Hasek Above: A guestroom at the Nines. EVERY SUCCESSFUL SUPPLIER OR HOTEL OWNER has great success stories to tell. What I have discovered from my seat as an editor, however, is that most companies never bother to tell their success stories—at least in a welldocumented and organized fashion. They are missing out on a great opportunity to educate our industry and drum up new business at the same time. There are many great green hotel success stories but few have been as well documented as the Nines hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon. I was recently sent a 10-page case study of the property by Gary Golla, an architect on the project as part of locally based SERA Architects. The Nines occupies the top nine floors above a five-story Macy’s department store in the former Meier & Frank building. The 331-room property is managed by Sage Hospitality, and the interior was designed by Cliff Tuttle and Rebecca Brownlee of ForrestPerkins. The Nines opened last fall and, according to Golla, is expected to earn LEED Silver certification in June or July. What the case study does is quantify the cost premium for LEED Silver when compared with doing the same hotel without pursuing LEED. The document makes a very strong case for the value in building new or renovating to LEED standards. Any hotel developer considering LEED should read the case study. 30 march 2009 www.newh.org tel 800.593.NEWH Marginal Cost Premium Hard and soft costs were analyzed and incentives and utility cost reduction paybacks were also factored in. What were the most important findings of the study? It was determined that there was just a 1.2 percent soft and hard cost premium to the project to pursue LEED Silver. After factoring in the incentives, which are significant in Oregon, the premium is reduced to just 0.2 percent. Here is the real meat to chew on: The energy and water cost savings cover that remaining premium in 17 months and after 10 years the property will have saved more than $1 million in operating costs. The hotel will benefit from a 26 percent reduction in energy costs and 28 percent reduction in water and sewer charges. What SERA Architects does most effectively in its case study is document the cost of every LEED-related item, cite the number of LEED credits in question, tell to what degree the investment will benefit the property in the long run, and finish up with a final analysis of the total costs versus incentives while concluding with the payback period. SERA’s case study proves that you don’t have to write a book-long study to convey an important message. If you are able to obtain financing for a new-build or renovation project in this challenging economy, how you could not build to at least LEED Silver standards is beyond me. The numbers behind the Nines story are very compelling. When you do build that project, document every step and tell your story just like SERA Architects has told its story. Once you have that case study written, send it my way. I will be sure to include it in a future column. Glenn Hasek is the publisher and editor of Green Lodging News. This article first appeared on its website: greenlodgingnews.com. To obtain a copy of the case study, contact Gary Golla at garyg@serapdx.com, or call 503.445.7361. http://www.greenlodgingnews.com http://www.newh.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEWH - March 2009

NEWH - March 2009
Table of Contents
Network Leaders
News
Have you Seen?
Product Know-How
Point of View
Design 101
On the Scene
Sustainability: Case Study
Sustainability: NEWH Leadership Conference
Scholarship
Service: the Recognition of Excellence Award
Cover Story: Man in the Mirror
Project: Hotel Monaco
Project: Tulalip
Project: Pinehurst
New Members
Save the Date
Partner Profiles

NEWH - March 2009