26 Jul Green Office Lease for Single-Building Projects
So far large publicly traded companies are the only players to have really moved into the area of green building initiatives. Generally speaking, smaller players find costs to outweigh benefits. There are notable exceptions to this rule, such as MW Real Estate Group CEO, Mike Hananel, who undertook the largest green renovation project in Northwestern New York, across a major portion of the 650 unit multifamily portfolio he manages (view press and videos here). But for the most part the return on investment is insufficient to really motivate the smaller players. Larger corporations, however, are the most interested in occupying sustainable guildings to gain improved employee productivity and positive public relations.
In his CIRE magazine article, Richard C. Mallory goes on to explain that, “As green leasing trends trickle down to to smaller properties and tenants, the challenge will be for brokers to learn how green leases protect both parties by requiring compliance not only with  energy and water audit laws, but also with more broad-based state and local green building construction mandates.
Green leases have key elements not typically seen in other leases. For example, green leases require a landlord’s detailed review of the space, including interviewing occupants and checking a property’s thermal comfort and other systems to ensure they are being used correctly and maintained properly to maximize efficiency. Green leases also help ensure that tenant actions remain consistent with landlord intentions to meet state and local green rating compliance obligations.”
For more information on green leases you can check www.squarefootage.net. Or you can download a copy of the Real Property Association of Canada’s Standard Green Office Lease for Single-Building projects by clicking:Â Green_Office-Lease. The draft lease provides a great jumping off point for anyone seeking to address the above mentioned issues pertaining to green leases.