Green building saves operating costs and boosts asset value

Green buildings yield significant operational cost savings compared with traditional buildings and produce higher asset values, according to the World Green Building Trends 2016 Smart Market Report, by Dodge Data & Analytics and United Technologies Corporation.

More than 1,000 survey participants from 69 countries said they expect a 14% savings in operational costs over five years for new green buildings, and 13% savings over five years for green retrofits and renovations. In addition, building owners say that green buildings, both new and renovated, carry a 7% increase in asset value over traditional buildings.

These findings explain why building industry professionals forecast that more than 60% of their projects will be built to green standards by 2018. They also support the notion that green leases are becoming more attractive to tenants and investors, who are willing to pay premiums for long-term benefits.

Recent studies have indicated that green workplaces also benefit the bottom line by improving employee productivity and reducing absenteeism, staff turnover, and medical costs.

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.