IRVINE, CA-LEED certification is an admirable goal for real estate development projects, but it is often too rich for developers' blood. Manny Gonzalez, a principal with architecture and planning firm KTGY Group Inc. here, says that the high price tag of certification may evoke more “LEED-inspired” projects that have all of the green-building qualifications of LEED-certified projects without the formality—and cost—of the certification process.
“While developers are embracing the sustainable practices that LEED promotes, they seem to be less willing to pay the added cost of certification and commissioning,” said Gonzalez in a prepared statement. “Just building to the current California Building Code nearly guarantees that a project can achieve LEED certification. However, the six-figure cost for LEED certification is one of the first line items to get scratched from any development budget. Because of this, I think you will be seeing more and more 'LEED-inspired' projects in the future.”
Gonzalez added that as cities update their building codes, they will undoubtedly continue to add green-building regulations, “which will level the playing field for the construction industry as a whole since it will no longer be an elective cost to build green. But being able to build green in an affordable manner will put the savvy builders ahead of the pack.”
Two of Gonzalez's favorite examples are Garbett Home's urban-infill project, TerraSol, in South Salt Lake City, and the KTGY-designed Solaris Collection at Daybreak, a single-family community near Salt Lake City, “where a billboard with a picture of one of the community's homeowners has a quote that reads, 'My power bill is $5. What's yours?” said Gonzalez.
The ABC Green Home, on which GlobeSt.com previously reported, has demonstrated that architects can design a net zero energy home that is affordable, buildable and certifiable, which has been a tremendous opportunity for KTGY, Gonzalez adds. The project, currently on display and open to the public at the Great Park here, is the first of its kind to be built by Southern California Edison or any utility company.
KTGY has designed several developments that meet green-building standards, including Dana Strand, a LEED Gold senior-apartment community in Los Angeles that was a public/private partnership between the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles and ROEM Development Corp.; Primera Terra, a LEED Platinum luxury multifamily community in Playa Vista, developed by KB Home; and Heritage Oaks Senior Apartments, a low-income senior-housing community in Oakdale that was developed by Central Valley Coalition for Affordable Housing and Adroit Development Inc.
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Carrie Rossenfeld
Carrie Rossenfeld is a reporter for the San Diego and Orange County markets on GlobeSt.com and a contributor to Real Estate Forum. She was a trade-magazine and newsletter editor in New York City before moving to Southern California to become a freelance writer and editor for magazines, books and websites. Rossenfeld has written extensively on topics including commercial real estate, running a medical practice, intellectual-property licensing and giftware. She has edited books about profiting from real estate and has ghostwritten a book about starting a home-based business.
