December 13, 2006

GREEN

QUALEX-LANDMARK GROUP

Qualex-Landmark’s 30-storey Pomaria condo project at the south end of Howe Street in Vancouver is a rare example of private-sector investment in green construction in Vancouver. The LEED-registered building is set for completion in 2007

Government support key in fostering green investment

PETER MITHAM

Correspondent

Growing market opportunities for environment-friendly construction have some local analysts wondering why more companies in the private sector aren’t undertaking the projects. “Vancouver lags in private-sector investment,” said Matthew Zipchen, economic development strategist with the year-old Light House Sustainable Building Centre in Vancouver, during a recent presentation in Vancouver attended by developers, designers, builders and suppliers.

While the private sector funds 69 per cent of new green construction in Portland, Oregon, Zipchen said private-sector developers have their hand in just 26 per cent of the projects underway in Vancouver.

The projects include the 60-storey Shangri-La tower that Westbank Projects Corp. and Peterson Investment Group are building at West Georgia and Thurlow in Vancouver, and Pomaria, a 30-storey condo tower the Qualex-Landmark Group is developing at the south foot of Howe Street overlooking False Creek.

Zipchen said private-sector investment in Portland is outpacing that in Vancouver because there is greater marketing and outreach to convince developers to pursue the projects in Portland. Developers in the Oregon city can also have better access to education and technical support.

Portland has also helped foster the emergence of a green building market through incentives such as density bonuses rather than simply responding to demand from developers, Zipchen explained.

Support from the municipality, both in terms of incentives and technical support is important in fostering opportunities, Zipchen said, because so-called green development can be a daunting proposition for those unfamiliar with what it entails.

“Green innovation is scary to some developers,” Zipchen said. A significant concern for developers is liability, especially in B.C. in the wake of the leaky condo crisis of the 1990s. Developers’ tolerance for risk hasn’t yet rebounded.

Still, Zipchen said interest in green construction is increasing.

The success institutional developers have had with green buildings is convincing developers of commercial properties to incorporate green features into their projects.

Up to a third of non-residential construction in Greater Vancouver currently features elements of sustainable design, Zipchen said, with the most common standard being LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). He estimates that half to 75 per cent of green projects in the Lower Mainland are LEED-registered.

Light House believes the next sector to embrace green construction will be home builders, who can turn to a number of standards to tout the sustainable character of the projects.

Mixed-use projects have sought LEED certification, single-family homebuilders have the Canadian Home Builders’ Association’s BuildGreen initiative and developers at the University of British Columbia can follow REAP (Residential Environmental Assessment Program).

To support residential developers who wish to incorporate green features into their projects, Light House will walk through plans with developers and highlight areas where they can raise the sustainability of the projects.

Light House also offers what it calls “home spas,” an advisory service targeting renovators.

Research by VanCity Enterprises Ltd. suggests that green construction adds between 0.5 per cent and 3 per cent to the cost of a wood frame structure, and two to five per cent to the cost of concrete construction.

Surveys of potential buyers indicate that green features are a selling point for upwards of a third of home buyers, based on the potential health benefits, energy savings and the anticipated long-term value of green design features.

Zipchen said that level of interest warrants developers’ attention.

“If you’re not offering green features, you’re potentially missing out on a third of your buyers,” he said.

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