PRINT THIS STORY:

CHANGE TEXT SIZE:

BUILDING A GREEN TEAM

ENVIRONMENTALLY SAVVY CONTRACTORS CAN BE HARD TO FIND FOR LEED PROJECTS

By Steve McLinden

As retail developers say “go” to more and more sustainable projects, some find themselves stuck on “stop” when it comes to qualified contractors. It seems good green subcontractors are hard to find.

Sustainable construction is still in the pioneer phase, so there are few contractors out there with the relevant expertise, and many others have misconceptions about the complexity, cost and purpose of going green, observers say. “The contractor issue is definitely a concern,” said Jeffrey Grossberg, the principal of Chicago-based GreenWorld/Skysite Property, which retrofits buildings with green components and assembles consortia of green practitioners for commercial construction projects. “The architect is usually the first one in front of the client with a green design, which is fine, but when you go out into the field, you see that the tail hasn’t always caught up with the head.”

Environmentally friendly construction is not necessarily more complicated, says Grossberg, nor does it require a radically different skill set. “But when you deal with a technique subcontractors are not familiar with, their initial reaction is to overbid to cover themselves. It’s that fear factor of inexperience.”

The D’Jamoos Group, a family-owned development firm based in Naples, Fla., is addressing the contractor education issue as early as possible in the planning phases and by means of prudent selection of project managers and consultants. D’Jamoos is set to break ground next year on São Grato, a $125-million, 23-acre, mixed-use project in Naples with about 60,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The firm expects to earn the Florida Green Building Coalition’s Green Development designation. To accomplish that, D’Jamoos brought in noted environmental consultant Jennifer Languell of Fort Myers, Fla.-based Trifecta Construction Solutions at the conception to help coordinate the green effort.

To a large degree, acceptance of green practices among contractors is generational, Languell says. Many of the older contractors are resistant to such changes, she says, while the newer generation is more likely to absorb green methods and show enthusiasm for implementing them.

At first, many contractors tend to equate green with tree hugging and other environmental stereotypes, Languell says. “But when you start talking with them about the healthier materials, indoor air quality and energy savings, then show them how this is achieved, they usually say ‘no problem,’ ” she said. “These are all simple solutions.”

Green project managers should expect to do more handholding of their contractors than is customary, however. “By nature, contractors and subcontractors tend to be more worried about scheduling than anything else,” said Languell.

Project managers should also be involved during the critical construction stages, particularly if the subcontractors are uncomfortable with the processes, says Grossberg. “A high-performance building has a lot of interdependent components, and the slightest infraction can throw off the dynamics and reduce the desired net effect.”

Sometimes a company that is just getting into sustainable construction will latch onto a self-interested consultant who frames the process as being far more complicated than it is, says Matt Ross, president of Eco-Smart, a Sarasota, Fla.-based green consultant and distributor of sustainable-construction materials. “But for the most part, construction managers can use locally available tradespeople to accomplish their green objectives,” he said. “And when contractors really take the time to look at what is being proposed, they are actually going to experience reductions in complexity, especially when they’re using things such as insulated concrete forms.”

Taryn Holowka, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Green Building Council, says commercial construction “hasn’t produced as many contractors as we’d like to see, but that’s changing dramatically.” In the face of increasing demand, the USGBC now holds about 1,000 workshops a year, many of them packed with highly curious attendees, she says. The group also tailors private workshops for groups of at least 20, dedicated to specific green construction needs. “We have faculty all over the United States,” she said. “If an area is asking for it, we can do it.”

These days there are about 40,000 accredited LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) professionals in the U.S. who can either head up or serve on a green-building team, Holowka says. A USGBC half-day workshop titled “Using LEED on Retail Projects,” geared toward center owners, designers, builders and operators, offers a summation of green metrics and some case studies and best-practices discussions as well as a LEED application guide.

David Anderson, a project manager at Mooresville, N.C.-based Adams + Associates Architecture, says contractors have indeed been slow to adopt green methods. “But we haven’t seen one shy away from green or refuse to get involved in a project,” he said. To be sure, some are dealing with systems or products they are unaccustomed to, Anderson says. “But really, these are getting more and more mainstream,” he said. “Basically, what you’re asking contractors to do in the case of LEED is to keep up with more paperwork.”

Adams + Associates, which designed McDonald’s first LEED-certified restaurant, in Abercorn Commons, Savannah, Ga., is helping design an 800,000-square-foot, LEED-certified Tanger Factory Outlet Center in Deer Park, N.Y. Trains, rather than diesel-burning trucks, will deliver construction materials and remove debris at the project. Anderson says green is simply a new phenomenon in retail. “Any time you do something out of the ordinary, the onus is usually on the design team to bring the contractor up to speed,” he said. “In some cases, it’s the product supplier or manufacturer who can fill that role.”

Languell produces what she calls a “cookbook” of green practices and specifications at the earliest possible planning stages of a green project. “After it goes out, we will have sessions where we explain and thoroughly discuss [the processes] with contractors,” she said. Languell says she would rather work with one key contractor that has actually completed a certified green building than with several that are LEED-certified but have not completed one.

But John Genovese, senior vice president of development at Macerich, says it is important to remember that construction is still construction. “Even if a contractor hasn’t done a lot of [green jobs], they’ll be able to figure it out if they’re good contractors.” With some exceptions, such as solar-energy systems and rainwater recycling, “you really don’t need specialty contractors.”

“And just as architects and designers and engineers have been pushing their people to get [green-certified], contractors are doing the same,” said Genovese. “We own almost 80 million square feet, and if we do something on every project, it will add up significantly. You may not have the little scorecard that says LEED on a project, but you can still make a big impact.”

“Once the ‘subs’ catch up, then this fallacy that it costs more to be green will finally be overcome,” said Grossberg. “It’s not a matter of taking more time or costing more, it’s just a matter of doing things a little bit differently.” Languell thinks so too. Higher first costs will be more than compensated for by lower lifetime operating and maintenance costs, she says. “I hope this will all help refute the notion that buildings are disposable.”