Although green features added about 5 percent to construction costs, the tax credit and energy savings more than offset that increase. Geothermal heating and cooling, tight construction, and high performance windows help lower energy bills to 70 percent less than comparable buildings. “Lower-income families spend more of their disposable income on energy.” says Carlton Brown, COO of developer Full Spectrum of New York. “Our tenants can invest more in their kid’s education or improve their quality of life however they choose.”
The developer also tried to minimize the use of natural resources. The steel used in the building was 90 percent recycled. And the apartments’ bamboo floors are a rapidly renewable resource. “Bamboo is a grass as hard as oak or maple but competitively priced and attractive,” notes Brown. Laundry rooms on each floor are connected to apartments by a local-area network, so occupants can electronically reserve machines.
The project’s location did breed some skepticism. According to Brown, “people wondered who would buy condos directly across the street from a huge public housing development that go for about $100 per square foot more than the neighborhood average.” But the gamble has paid off. The green features, combined with “smart building” systems such as broadband connectivity and electronic surveillance, have helped create more demand than the developer thought possible. The 129 units (two-thirds of which are partially subsidized middle-income housing) sold out before construction was completed.
Brown believes that the success of affordable projects like 1400 on 5th will create demand among potential tenants. In fact, Full Spectrum has started another 450-unit project that will use many of the same features. Says Brown: “I believe the market will drive the green building movement and the builders will be forced to follow.”
–Charles Wardell is a freelance writer in Vineyard Haven, Mass.