Experts: green building has money-saving limits (Jacksonville)

Industrial developer Bill Spinner would like to build more green projects, but like most developers, he doesn’t want to wait 30 years to get the return on his investment.

More than two dozen commercial and residential buildings in Jacksonville have met the stringent standards for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design designation, which rates “green” buildings based on a points system, but many more Jacksonville buildings have not been certified because of the cost associated with certification. Spinner, co-owner and managing director of Spinner Construction, said some of the points needed to get the designation are so expensive it could take decades, literally, to realize the cost savings.

Coen Purvis, a vice president at Hallmark Partners Inc., said those in the real estate industry do understand the environmental benefits to LEED certification, but, “there’s not enough empirical data to show that a green building necessarily gets increased rental rates, has higher occupancy rates and has lower cap rates when you go to sell it. I don’t think there’s been enough transactions to show that.”

The expense of some of the LEED points is a common concern not only in Jacksonville, but all over the nation.

Terry Walker, an architect in suburban Seattle, posted a blog in March addressing what he believes are deficiencies in the LEED program.

While he thinks it’s a great awareness program and marketing tool, it lacks a fundamental metric to measure the effectiveness of each component.

“By all means, continue building green, but as far as actually being worth it,” Walker said of the LEED program, “I’m not certain that it is worth getting certified.”

Read the full story in the Jacksonville Business Journal.