Colorado Real Estate Journal - January 21, 2015

USGBC previews green building trends for 2015

The Centennial state will continue to grow as a center of green construction expertise and ownership, according to a recently released preview of green building trends this year by the U.S.

Green Building Council’s Colorado chapter.

“There is enormous support behind green building in Colorado,” said Sharon Alton, executive director, USGBC Colorado. “People in both urban centers and rural communities want to grow the state sustainably. This starts with the spaces we build and reimagine.

“As a panel of developers and owners told us at our Commercial Real Estate Forum, green buildings are becoming a must-have for owners,” she continued.

The chapter noted that commercial real estate brings together the public and private sectors, as evidenced by the opening of Denver’s Union Station and the commitment to creating partnerships between the private and public sectors for the project.

Additionally, USGBC Colorado credits Colorado’s commercial real estate industry with successfully bridging the gap between sectors to execute Union Station and other green building projects, large and small.

“With many LEED-certified projects in the Union Station neighborhood coming to completion in 2015, it will be apparent that green building and the hottest neighborhood in the region are not a coincidental combination,” said Alton.

The chapter also predicts that
“green school” leaders will gain resources.
People in both urban
centers and rural
communities want
to grow the state
sustainably. This starts
with the spaces we
build and reimagine.'
- Sharon Alton, USGBC Colorado

USGBC Colorado noted that the state’s schools are under pressure as enrollments grow and buildings age. A handful of private and public programs in the state support schools that wish to renovate or build their facilities sustainably. Many of these programs also will increase in sophistication in 2015, such as the Colorado Energy Office bundling all of its programs in a new energy savings for schools offering this year while the Colorado Department of Education will open a new Building Excellent Schools Today Program grant round with an expected $35 million to $45 million of available funding.

Further, the chapter predicts that Colorado will continue to innovate.

“There’s no shortage of innovative, exciting green building projects completed or in progress in Colorado right now,” commented Alton. “That trend won’t reverse anytime soon.”