LEED Pt.4 – Community Value
LEED certification comes with many benefits. When you work with Schaus-Vorhies Contracting to design and build your LEED-certified structure, you will have lower energy costs, a better living, and a positive working environment, and fill your space with tenants faster than you would otherwise. That means you save money and make more money faster, helping you to recoup your initial investment in a shorter time. If all of that isn’t enough to convince you of the practical value of a LEED certification, don’t worry, there are more.
In our previous installment, we explained many of the benefits experienced by those who live and work in a LEED-certified building. Those same positives that make life better for them also produce benefits for the owner. Workers in LEED environments are markedly more productive and have a more positive working environment. With fewer distractions and better health, they not only produce more with fewer needs for breaks, at least one study has shown that they also experience better cognitive function. Better cognitive function translates into better attention to detail (thus better quality control) and more innovation. And the better quality and more innovative products and processes mean better business.
Those same kinds of conditions create better living environments for apartment renters as well. That means they will stay longer, and if a tenant should leave, there will be plenty of positive word of mouth to attract someone to fill the spot quickly. The end result is apartments full of reliable long-term tenants.
LEED certifications also benefit the community as a whole. The most apparent positive effects to mention are in terms of the environment. LEED buildings use less energy, which means fewer fossil fuels burned, which in turn means cleaner air. Lower water usage also means that there is more available, especially during a dry summer. All of those energy and water reductions also benefit the community monetarily as less demand for those resources keeps the prices down, which helps everyone in the long run. While it is true that one building won’t make much of a difference on its own, as more and more LEED-certified buildings are built, the benefits will stack on top of each other.
Let us not forget all the tenants drawn to your LEED building. People renting apartments will be there, spending money on local coffee shops, restaurants, clothiers, and whatever other business that might be nearby. Retailers renting space in your buildings will still attract additional customers to the area. All the extra traffic can bring in yet more businesses, creating a snowball effect that leads to many new jobs as well as higher tax revenue for the area.
Speaking of taxes, there is a benefit in that most dreaded of realms as well. To promote sustainable technologies, the federal and many state governments offer tax incentives to those seeking LEED certification. This is partly because reducing dependency on fossil fuels is a national security issue. The incentives are also put in place to encourage further innovation in the realm of energy reduction. Those incentives go a long way to making technology that is compatible with LEED standards more affordable and therefore allowing for a much faster return on investment.
Schaus-Vorhies Contracting has designed and built many LEED buildings in Iowa. In addition to the upgrades to our manufacturing facility that have already been mentioned in this series, there are many others that we have constructed throughout the state, making us an industry leader in constructing LEED-certified buildings. As populations become denser, it will become important to make the best use of space and resources. Naturally, this will lead to more people demanding the kinds of living and positive working environment that LEED certifications ensure. This will also lead to more and more demand for capable contractors. They are up to that task and already have experience in this field. That’s where Schaus-Vorhies comes in. With years of design and building experience and our building powered by solar power, we have the necessary skill and know-how to put you at the forefront of the movement. Call Schaus-Vorhies Contracting today. We’ll get started building you a LEED-certified structure that will not only get the job done but look great doing it and will save you a ton of money in the long run.
