LEED Spells Rent Premiums in D.C.

The Washington, D.C. Office of Revenue Analysis recently published a study of the effects of LEED buildings in the District, generally considered a national leader for green building practices.

Writing for the Office of Revenue Analysis, Rozanne Sazegar explains the green building accomplishments of the District, as measured by the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification system:

The city has consistently led the nation in the number of LEED certifications, according to the U. S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This consistency over the years culminated in the city becoming the world’s first LEED Platinum city in 2017. In 2018, the city had 145 certified building projects with 37.1 million LEED-certified gross square feet. This amount of certified gross square footage represents 61.7 square feet of LEED-certified space per resident, the highest ratio among all states and major cities in the country.

In news coverage of the new report, Nena Perry Brown picks up on the outcomes of all the green building, as reported in the study. The most notable finding: occupants of LEED-certified building in the District pay higher rents:

Although multifamily projects are exempt from DC's LEED certification requirements, 27 have been certified since 2000, accounting for 30 percent of new multifamily buildings built in that time. On average, effective rents were 15.2 percent higher in 2018 for LEED-certified buildings than non-LEED buildings, creating a premium of 45 cents per square foot.