These are excerpts from a roundtable discussion sponsored by Incisive Media and Williams Real Estate. The full text will appear in the December issue of Real Estate New York magazine.

NEW YORK CITY-Eighteen months ago, recalled construction attorney Kenneth Block, discussions about green building tended to revolve around the question of whether the cost and effort were justified. Now, said a panel of experts Monday evening, everyone from tenants to lenders to government is making it all but essential.

"The state of the art will be green," said Block, partner at Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP. "There's no question about that." Block pointed out that as part of their more stringent standards, lenders will insist on the-state-of-the-art when it comes to financing new construction. Moreover, government is leading the way in mandating green standards, he added.

Noting that the crux of the issue for commercial real estate is cost effectiveness, moderator Robert Freedman said that owners and developers, "no matter how enlightened they are," are still responsible to the realities of the marketplace. In a business of ROI and payback thresholds, "Can green be sold effectively in the context of this marketplace?" asked Freedman, president and CEO of Williams Real Estate, in kicking off the panel discussion.