The construction industry has introduced the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system to promote objective evaluations of the sustainability of buildings. Three important values to consider when implementing sustainability are the associated environmental, social, and economic impacts. Recently, researchers have begun to investigate the real estate value of LEED certified buildings in terms of the rental cost, occupancy rate, cost per unit area, and resale value in order to better understand the economic benefits of the LEED rating system. However, the economic benefits also encompass economic effects such as the impact of LEED certified buildings on neighborhood real estate values surrounding the certified buildings. This research examines whether the enhanced real estate value of LEED certified buildings in New York City extends to surrounding commercial buildings, utilizing spatial analysis via a Geographic Information System (GIS) and the hedonic pricing method to derive meaningful economic relationships. The results provide practical insights into the economic effect of LEED certified buildings that will be of interest to city officials and planners, as well as the owners, developers, investors and other stakeholders of surrounding buildings.
The authors would like to thank the Myers-Lawson School of Construction at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) at the George Washington University School of Business for their financial support.