TheDeveloper
John Hodge

The housing authority is always looking for ways to reduce its operating costs. I don’t think green building popped into our heads when we first thought about ways to control our operating costs, but amazingly enough going green turns out to be the best way to do this.

MaineHousing’s new Green Building Standards also helped steer us in this direction. The housing authority now expects developers to incorporate as many green standards as possible into the projects it funds. So while they pushed us in this direction, it was a welcome push that forced us to look at alternatives to reduce costs.

Many green features contribute to keeping down long-term operating costs. For example, orientating the building south to get as much passive solar heat gain as possible; using Energy Star appliances and energy-efficient windows; and incorporating higher insulation standards to retain heat. Building construction is changing. How buildings are wrapped and caulked and insulated has an impact on energy use.

We are also using energy-efficient boilers and natural gas rather than oil. We have controls in place so that the heating system only operates when it needs to. If a resident turns on the heat on a 70-degree day, the system won’t produce heat. The lighting systems were also designed with energy efficiency in mind. We have timers in place so that lights aren’t on 24 hours a day. If people enter a room the light will turn on, but if there’s no movement in the room after a certain period the light will turn off.

Dining room at Creekside Village.

We’re also using as many nonpetroleum-based products as possible to protect air quality inside the building.

While some of these features are slightly more expensive, the payback is relatively short term. Going forward 10 to 20 years, these buildings will keep our costs down and hopefully keep rents from rising.

The architects provided estimates of the cost of each component. We also worked closely with MaineHousing, which was willing to pay a little more to get these features in place. Energy Star appliances are more expensive than regular appliances, but they burn less electricity and repay the added costs in two to three years. As the owner of the building we’re responsible for managing the overall cost, but we work within a framework set by our funding sources. In this case the developer and financier were on the same page.

It was primarily the architect that handled implementation of the green standards. Early in the development process the team — which included Avesta Housing —  met to go over the plans and the process. It was very helpful to get everybody on the same page and make sure we all understood the common goal, which was to create 40 beautiful apartments for seniors in a cost-effective way.

I think the best way to know if we are saving money is to compare this development with existing properties that don’t have green enhancements. We own and operate a 42-unit senior building without green enhancements, so we will likely compare what we spend on electricity in that building with what we will be spending on Creekside.

As a developer, I don’t consider building green to be a burden. At this point, we’re still trying to understand what green means to us as developers. When you initially hear about the green standards, you kind of shrug your shoulders and roll your eyes: Oh my God, what is this going to do to the cost of construction? But once you begin to understand what they are you realize they’re not overly burdensome and there will be a payback.

The next phase will be to get the builders to understand these standards as well. The builders are used to building in a certain way. If you tell them they have to change they look at you a little funny. It’s really an educational process.

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