Green Building Council predicts surge in green building for 2016

Margaret Jackson | Monday, January 11, 2016
The U.S. Green Building Council's Colorado chapter is predicting a major surge in green building for 2016.

Coming off a banner year in the construction industry where the chapter saw 127 LEED certifications this year, the USGBC saw attendance at its signature event Rocky Mountain Green increase by nearly 25 percent.

"Colorado has always shown tremendous support for green building," says Patti Mason, executive director of USGBC Colorado. "What stands out in 2015 is the diversity of LEED-certified projects. From affordable housing developers earning LEED for Neighborhood Development certification to schools in rural Colorado earning a community's first LEED plaque, we have seen a rich diversity of projects that is unmatched in previous years."

The USGBC Colorado predictions for 2016 include:
  • Greater accessibility to green living for residents in low-income housing. The Denver Housing Authority's longstanding commitment to renewable energy, green building and healthy living will serve as a model for others working on Colorado's housing shortage.
  • Repurposing industrial buildings and building more condominiums. With Denver's land values appreciating more than 100 percent in the last two years, the 2015 trend was adapative reuse. 2016 will see more of the same, with adaptive reuse being an option to meet the housing demand in Denver.
  • Schools shift toward the 21st century. Schools will look for creative ways to shift existing and new schools toward an environment appropriate for 21st century learning.  With 11 new LEED-certified schools in Colorado in 2015, the green schools movement is on the rise.
Contact Confluence Denver Development News Editor Margaret Jackson with tips and leads for future stories at margaret@confluence-denver.com.
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Margaret is a veteran Denver real estate reporter and can be contacted here.

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Architecture, Community Change, Energy, Environment, Move to Denver, Placemaking, Real Estate Development 

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