Building Developers Go Green To Save Cash In The Long Run
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From carpets made from recycled soda bottles to rooftops that collect and use rainwater, developers across the city are trying to make it a little easier to be green.
For example, at the Visionaire in Battery Park City, the Albanese Organization focused on maximum efficiency, from solar energy to the air filtration system to making sure a bulk of the materials originated from within 500 miles of the project site.
"Sure, it does cost more. But it also achieves higher value," says Russel Albanese, president of the Albanese Organization. "So we don't just look at the first cost. We look at the return on the investment."
Carlton Brown, a managing partner of the Kalahari Hybrid Condos in Harlem, disagrees on the cost issue.
"One of the myths is that to build green, you have to spend more to build green," he says. "But all of our green buildings are built at essentially the same price that it would take to build a non-green building."
Seventy percent of the materials used in the building are either renewable resources, like the bamboo floors, or recycled products, like the glass-tiled backsplash.
"You look at the walls, and it looks like walls," says Brown. "But what it is, is gypsum and recycled paper."
Buzzwords like "green" or "hybrid" will generate traffic, but are buyers really willing to spend more green to live a greener lifestyle?
"I think money is going to be the most important for me, but saving the environment is pretty high up there also," says buyer Jayson Baron.
But even if it does cost more to purchase a green home, developers say the overall efficiency of the buildings mean residents will save green in the long run.
"If you paid only one or two-percent more, and you reduce your energy consumption by 30 or 40 percent, you will recover that in the first year of operation through lower energy costs," says Brown.
Given that almost 90 percent of the units at the Kalahari and over half of the units at the Visionaire have sold, it seems people are willing to pay a price if they feel they can protect the environment and their pocketbook at the same time.
"People would like to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem," says Albanese. "And people are also concerned about a long-term value investment. A green, environmentally responsible building is here to stay. It's something that's going to become the standard."