Time Equities' Cook

Green development – and by association, green lending – is so new, it is little wonder it can be hard for the industry to reach a consensus. Is the US Green Building Council the de facto standards developer in this space, or should developers look to other standard setters as well? Will more cities adopt green building codes, or will it just be limited to the two coasts? And more recently, are lenders willing to cut a deal on a green building, or does their underwriting ignore the case for ROI?There is a school of thought [see "Industry Waits for Green MBS" on this page] that has found that lenders do not price the ROI for green development into their debt and equity products. Indeed, one attorney tells GlobeSt.com that green financing is, instead, priced at a risk premium because the technology is unproven.Here to make the case otherwise is Alice Cook, director of sustainability of New York City-based Time Equities Inc. She is an environmental engineer by training and is heading up the company’s sustainable design department. Cook’s experiences thus far? Lenders are neutral, and in some cases, a green building is a positive in landing finance.

GlobeSt.com: Tell me about your experiences with construction costs for a green project.

Cook: On large construction projects, perhaps surprisingly, if the project is green it is not a big concern. A bank would want to see roughly where [the additional costs] fall in the budget. But we are finding it to be not so much a premium as an item that rolls into the budget.