First Cost and Life Costs
Actual hard construction costs for "sticks and bricks", excluding site costs, totaled just over $78 per square foot, a difficult target even for conventional construction in the Central Pennsylvania market. Furthermore, over the life of this building and its occupancy, energy costs are expected to be reduced by approximately $50,000 annually.
As a result, the economic benefits of the DEP project’s green/sustainable attributes and the concomitant impact of environmental issues on workers cannot be emphasized enough. Furthermore, the higher cost of sustainable materials at present remains a function of small demand by virtue of minimal awareness. As awareness increases, so will demand, particularly given the potential major economic benefits or "greening." DEP’s new Regional Headquarters Building, then, represents a remarkable opportunity for providing such awareness. As such, it will serve as a shining example of the benefits created by designing and building with environmental sensitivity. More importantly, the integrated design process utilized for implementing this Green Building project, one that applied the collective knowledge of designers, constructors, government officials, academicians, and many others, will now be utilized repeatedly statewide as the Commonwealth designs and builds its facilities. As a result, the newly formed Pennsylvania Governor’s Green Government Council now has a working model of both a process and a product to display and exhibit while promoting the Commonwealth’s commitment to Green Building.
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