Search
 

Green for Greenbacks

GlobeSt.com sits down with Mitchell Randall of the Land Use and Environmental Law Group and the Real Estate Group to examine sustainability's impact on obtaining financing.

By Debra Hazel | Updated on June 12, 2009

Green building could be a temporary victim of the Great Recession–with financing difficult to arrange for any project, sustainability is not proving a benefit to getting funding. GlobeSt.com spoke with Mitchell Randall, a partner practicing in the Land Use and Environmental Law Group and the Real Estate Group in the Walnut Creek, CA office of law firm Morrison Foerster about sustainability, financing and what a municipality may do these days to get a new project.

GlobeSt.com: Does building green help in a tough financing environment? Randall: It’s just tough all around right now, and I don’t think that something like green building is going to make a difference in the financing market in this economy. We’re still pretty early on the curve on green building. A lot of the green building that is going to be done will be single tenant–a corporation that wants to make a statement, and so they have a building built for them. Or someone builds a building for a single tenant that wants to establish its green credentials, and they’ll pay the development premium for that building.

But in terms of multi-tenant commercial buildings, we’re pretty early. It’s debatable, but I think that most would say it does cost more to develop green. You get a return on that investment over the years with lower utility bills and operating expenses, but in a tough financing market, it doesn’t necessarily help to front-load those costs.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.

Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Unlimited access to GlobeSt and other free ALM publications
  • Access to 15 years of GlobeSt archives
  • Your choice of GlobeSt digital newsletters and over 70 others from popular sister publications
  • 1 free article* every 30 days across the ALM subscription network
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM events and publications

*May exclude premium content
Already have an account?

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

GlobeSt

Join GlobeSt

Don't miss crucial news and insights you need to make informed commercial real estate decisions. Join GlobeSt.com now!

  • Free unlimited access to GlobeSt.com's trusted and independent team of experts who provide commercial real estate owners, investors, developers, brokers and finance professionals with comprehensive coverage, analysis and best practices necessary to innovate and build business.
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM and GlobeSt events.
  • Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com.

Already have an account? Sign In Now
Join GlobeSt

Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.