Sustainable Land Development Today - October 2008 - (Page 39)

In 2007, PNC Financial Group began a major, green bank branch construction program. Their LEED-Certified branches cost PNC $100,000 less to build and take 45 days less to construct than comparable conventional bank branches. FACT: Not only do LEED buildings cost pretty much the same as conventional buildings, but they cost less to operate, often result in greater occupant productivity and are increasingly better investments than their conventionally built counterparts. rates, 3 percent higher rental rates, a 7.5 percent average increase in building values and a 6.6 percent higher return on investment. I Upon its completion in mid-2006, the 40-story, $200 million, LEED-Silver, One South Dearborn Street building was already 93 percent leased, while the rest of the downtown Chicago market faced a 14.3 percent Class A office vacancy rate. Later in the year, developer Hines sold the office tower to the Olen Properties Group for $344 million, a $144 million profit I One Crescent Drive, a four-story LEED-Platinum office building in the Philadelphia Navy Yard Corporate Center, has rental rates that are 25 to 50 percent above the market average. I Herman Miller’s LEED-certified ‘Marketplace’ provides $6 million in savings over what the company would have paid in a conventional 100,000 squarefoot leased space – including: 33 percent reduction in building costs, 41 percent reduction in operating costs and a 66 percent reduction in chum-related costs over their seven-year lease. Lower Operational Costs - Savings in energy costs of 20 to 50 percent are common through integrated design and planning, site orientation, energy-saving technologies, light reflective materials, on-site renewable energy production, natural daylight and ventilation. For example: I Genzyme’s 12-story, 350,000 square-foot LEED-platinum corporate headquarters in Cambridge, MA uses 42 percent less energy and 34 percent less water than a comparable conventional building. I Warner Bros. LEED-certified building in Burbank, CA reduced electricity, gas and water costs by 38 percent. FACT: In Savannah alone, where sustainable commercial real estate developer Melaver, Inc. is headquartered, there are well over 100 LEED Accredited Professionals. LEED AP’s have a thorough understanding of high performance green building practices and principles as well as the LEED rating system and its application. Local LEED APs include architects, engineers, general contractors, consultants, interior designers, planners and even a couple of commercial real estate agents. Nationwide over 40,000 people have become LEED APs since USGBC launched the accreditation program in 2001. MYTH: Green building technologies have not been developed yet. FACT: New building technologies that help improve energy efficiency and enhance occupant health have been developed, are constantly improving and becoming less expensive all the time and over 900 vendors displayed their green products at the Greenbuild Conference in 2007. FACT: Green buildings also employ common sense, low-tech strategies (that are really nothing new at all) including use of regional materials and manufacturers, selecting infill or transit-oriented sites, use of insulation, south-facing building orientation, landscaping with drought-tolerant and/or native plants, re-use and/or recycling of existing building components and providing occupants access to fresh air and views. Another fact that can not be overstated is that the construction of energy efficient and healthy places to live and work will likely become more of a necessity as population growth and energy demands continue to increase. Learning more about these concepts will be critical for the future success of developers and their projects. SLDT About the author: Martin Melaver is CEO of Melaver, Inc., a sustainable commercial real estate developer based in Savannah, Georgia. For more information visit www.melaver.com. www.SLDTonline.com 39 MYTH: Green building doesn’t really make a difference. FACT: According to the USGBC, In the United States, buildings are responsible for: 39% Energy Consumption 71% Electricity Consumption 12% Potable Water Consumption 30% Raw Materials Use 30% Waste Output 39% CO2 Emissions FACT: High performance green buildings use less, waste less and produce less green house gas emissions than conventional buildings. High performance green buildings address concerns over rising energy costs, drought and global climate change Increased Productivity - The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the nationwide value of improved office worker productivity from indoor environmental improvements (such as high quality indoor air, access to views and natural light) to be $20 billion to $160 billion. I Lockheed Martin’s 600,000 squarefoot high performance facility in Sunnyvale, California reported a 15 percent drop in employee absenteeism – a savings that paid for the incremental costs of the new facility in the first year alone. I After Toyota’s customer services unit moved into a LEED-Gold building, absenteeism fell by 14 percent. Better Investments - According to the McGraw-Hill 2006 Green Building SmartMarket Report, green buildings deliver: 3.5 percent higher occupancy MYTH: Finding someone with green building expertise is too difficult. http://www.melaver.com http://www.SLDTonline.com

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Sustainable Land Development Today - October 2008

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