Going Green in New York's Office Market

Building owners should consider retrofitting their buildings with green design elements to attract long-term tenants.

by Eric Pawlowski

Experts claim, the tri-state commercial real estate market is improving. However, building owners and managers are still struggling to attract and keep tenants as more new developments open.

Landlords must keep asking themselves what they can do to get contracts signed. A developing option available to New York landlords is the concept going "green." Going green has the potential to make office space less expensive to operate by attracting long-term tenants. Potentially, green retrofits can make office space healthier and more comfortable. As an additional incentive, New York building owners can get tax credits for lessening the environmental impact of their facilities.

While most green buildings are new construction projects, existing facilities can also be upgraded to become more environmentally friendly, thereby offering a unique benefit to tenants.

The first step in improving the performance of a building is to consider existing systems for power, lighting, heating, cooling and ventilation. One way to approach these systems is through retro-commissioning.

A relatively new engineering field, retro-commissioning is the process of ensuring systems are working in accordance with original design criteria as well as providing for long-term maintenance. When engineers return to a building even a few years after it was built, they usually find systems operating at lower efficiency than when they were installed. If documentation is not adequately maintained, it may be difficult for systems to be returned to proper status. Older buildings might have no documentation at all for the patchwork of systems installed and upgraded over time. In retro-commissioning, engineers examine building systems to determine system settings, maintenance schedules and necessary improvements.

An important step in greening a building is to consider it as a whole, paying particular attention to the following:

• Building exterior. Can walls and roofs be covered or painted with light-colored materials, so they reflect sunlight? Can windows be upgraded with energy-efficient double-paned or coated glass?
  
• Heating and cooling. Can a zoning plan shut off heating and cooling to parts of the building when they are unoccupied (after business hours, for example)?
  
• Lighting. Can sensors be provided to turn off lights when no one is in a room? Can more reliance be placed on natural sunlight?
  
• Air. Should air be circulated more frequently or filtered more extensively? Are sources of air pollution (including office machines such as faxes and copiers) isolated and their air circulated separately?
  
• Water. Can rainwater be collected and used for irrigation of lobby and exterior vegetation? Can the need for irrigation be minimized?

Once a building has been upgraded, all that remains is to convince potential tenants that the facility is truly green. To establish a reliable standard for sustainability, the U.S. Green Building Council, a non-profit industry coalition, developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system or LEED. The Green Building Council recently introduced a LEED pilot program for existing buildings; the final certification process will be released this year. Obtaining LEED certification for an office building would distinguish it as among the greenest in the U.S.

Beyond the benefits of lowering operating costs and attracting tenants, high-performance buildings can also receive tax credits from the state of New York. The state's innovative Green Building Tax Credit provides up to $24 million of credits to owners and tenants of buildings with increased energy efficiency, improved indoor air quality and reduced environmental impacts. In addition to credits for buildings as a whole or for tenant space, credits are offered for the use of fuel cells, photovoltaic modules and green refrigerants. Learn more about the New York State Green Building Initiative at http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/ppu/grnbldg/.

Engineers and architects say green design is the way of the future because the market demands it. Tenants are becoming more astute about the conditions of the buildings they lease. They know that productivity is compromised and absenteeism increases when air quality is low. They want to spend their days in healthy places.

Making a building green can give it the edge it needs in today's tough market in the urban jungle of New York.

Eric Pawlowski is a project manager for Carter & Burgess, Inc. in New York, N.Y.