The Soo Line Building lobby.
Green is not only growing in the single-family home sector; multifamily is seeing a rise in sustainable building as well. The Best in American Living article “Reduce, Reuse, Reduce, Repurpose,” featuring Minneapolis’ award-winning example of adaptive reuse, the Soo Line City Apartments, explains how green is becoming not just a trend, but a valid business practice.
According to the recent McGraw-Hill Construction SmartMarket report, “Green Multifamily and Single-Family Homes: Growth in a Recovering Market,” builders who employ green measures in 16% of their projects are expected to increase from 31 to 79% between 2011 and 2015.
Meanwhile, 68% of multifamily builders currently building new projects report their customers are willing to pay more for green condominiums or apartments than traditional. Remodelers, too, are seeing the demand, reporting that only 12% of their customers aren’t willing to pay more for sustainable features.
It’s a promising new direction, demonstrating that builders are recognizing the inherent value in green practices and upgrading their techniques to offer better value.
The Soo Line’s “SkyClub” is a gathering place full of green goodness.
The Soo Line, for example, is a 100-year-old former commercial building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In the Central Business District and connected to Minneapolis’ Skyway transit system, it was transformed into 254 apartments, a brasserie, restaurant and retail space that attract urban-minded young professionals and empty-nester renters. From reclaimed wood to energy-efficient appliances and HVAC system, the building is a model of where green is going.
Buildings like it (Soo Line won the 2014 Best in American Living Award for Adaptive Reuse, Multifamily!) showcase the success and affordability of green multifamily projects and offer lessons to industry professionals, for example, educating buyers on the synergy between energy performance and affordability. Read more here…
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