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Is green design economical in today''s R.E. market? Developers exploring cost efficient alternatives to traditional construction. (Special Report: Commercial Real Estate).

Article Excerpt
Without a doubt, San Diego's real estate community is heading toward greener pastures. As evidence, the industry is experiencing an increased demand for sustainable or "green" design concepts and alternative building materials for both residential and commercial projects.

Yet, despite the growing popularity, many developers are asking themselves one question: Is green design economical now?

For years, sustainable design has been considered by many in the building industry to be an earth-saving and idealistic concept, yet too expensive and impractical for most major development projects. There are several reasons for this.

First, sustainable building is labor-intensive, and labor is expensive here and in other developed countries. Although technology and conventional resources are available and inexpensive, labor costs are a significant factor in overall construction costs.

Second, alternative building materials and methods are not widely used yet, so they don't have the...

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