"Developer’s Challenges" Keys March Monthly Meeting

by Jennifer Xu, Perkins Eastman

More than 80 people showed up at the German Cultural Institute in Washington, DC on March 25, to hear the special insight of a panel of experts on commercial development in the Metro region.

Many people stayed for the more than two hours of presentationsand small-group discussions that arose after the formal program. The theme of the program was “Development Challenges and Incorporating LEED into Your Project”. Five speakers covered a broad range of the issues facing developers in the region, including the LEED registration process, LEED implementation challenges, financing options, and insurance coverage for green projects.

The program began with an introduction of implementing LEED by Tom Fisher from Sustainable Design Consulting. He discussed the scopes and services of LEED consultants. According to Tom, starting early and getting everyone involved is very important to implement LEED. Tom also emphasized the importance of construction waste management, energy modeling, commissioning, and soft costs and project budget.

Shane Pollin of the Duffie Companies offered his expertise with a successful LEED implementation case study. Shane noted that, from the developer’s perspective, new focus means value. Mr. Pollin suggested that developers learn new terminology, perform research on new products and services, and utilize new cost metrics. He wrapped up comments by noting that a champion from the ownership team is a key element to a successful LEED project.

Dodd Walker of Akridge also discussed LEED design challenges and the issues of sustainable features versus cost. He shared lessons learned from developing a LEED Gold office building - revisiting design options throughout the process and early tenant education. In addition, Dodd reminded the audience that LEED certification does not guarantee an Energy Star rating, adding that design features and energy management are required.

Next, Dan Winters of Evolution Partners discussed green building finance challenges in the current climate. “Green value” is starting to have an impact on property valuations. Eight green valuation projects are ongoing in North America and the EU. Dan referred to the CoStar Group Sustainable Database and High Performance Building Initiative from DOE. Dan also gave a list of banks with specific green lending programs, in addition to utility discounted loan programs for energy efficient features in most states.

Finally, Phil Coyne of ECBM presented an overview of Insurance Coverage Options for Green Projects that allow full replacement of LEED buildings in case of loss. He introduced Fireman’s Fund, a first set of coverages for green buildings. Three options of Fireman’s Fund: Green Upgrade Coverage: coverage that pays for replacing standard systems and materials with sustainable ones after a loss; Green Certified Building Coverage: coverage for a green-certified project suffering a loss, protecting the investment with broad coverage for sustainable features; and finally, Building Commissioning Coverage, which covers the cost to hire a commissioning engineer to ensure building system performance.

In the Q and A session, the panelists addressed questions on emission standards, BIM role in the sustainable design, and staff education for smaller developers, among other topics. The panelists also gave inputs on how to keep green buildings green.