Categories: Sustainable Commercial Buildings, Sustainability Strategies, Processes and Tools Sectors: Owners, Designers
A major study of three different types of buildings has shown that sustainable refurbishment produces a return of better than 10 percent on investment.
The study, completed by Arup and Davis Langdon for the Property Council of Australia, adds weight to the push by the property industry for the federal government to do more to encourage refurbishment and retro-greening of existing buildings.
Arup and Davis Langdon analysed three generic building types – a 20,000sqm CBD tower, a 15,000sqm city-fringe highrise and a 2800sqm suburban office, all built in the 1980s.
The analysis documented the significant return on investment from sustainable refurbishment, and suggested that the impact on the property market of the Federal Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) would make this return even more attractive.
The results provide clear evidence that upgrading an established existing building to achieve a minimum 4.5 star National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) rating would provide a positive return on investment while ensuring that the asset remains competitive with contemporary buildings.
The six steps
The study, to be published as Existing Buildings Survival Strategies: Making It Happen, guides building owners through a step-by-step process for assessing building assets, setting appropriate targets and identifying key upgrade initiatives to make sure they are making sound investment decisions.
The six steps outlined in the program include:
- Determine your baseline
- Establish your targets and goals
- Review your building maintenance, housekeeping and energy pruchase strategy
- Crunch time: establish your upgrade benchmark
- Select your optimal upgrade initiatives
- Make it happen
Step #1 Determine Your Baseline
Before embarking on any upgrade of an existing building building owners should look closely at the current condition, performance, and utilisation of their building. This establishes a baseline.
Once you have a baseline you can set targets
Step #2 Establish Your Targets and Goals
Once the baseline for the building has been determined, the next step is to focus on where you want the building to be.
It is imperative that a great deal of consideration is given to this process before any building works are contemplated and cost plans prepared.
Step #3 Review Your Building Maintenance, Housekeeping and Energy Purchase Strategy
Surprisingly significant improvements can be made with minimal cost through housekeeping review, energy purchase, improved maintenance regimes and recommissioning building services.
Step #4 Crunch Time: Establish Your Upgrade Benchmark
Once you know the condition and performance of your building, and have decided on your targets, it is time to decide what degree of refurbishment is needed, or if it would be more practical and sustainable to redevelop the site.
Step #5 Select Your Optimal Upgrade Initiatives
There is no one solution or approach for any building upgrade; each initiative needs to be assessed based on its merits and the building in question.
Step #6 Make It Happen
The business case is there, the tools are there, and the expertise, is there - engineers and property professionals. They can help you activate your sustainability plan for your existing building. It's time to make your move.
The results the three case studies give in the publication suggest that sustainable refurbishment of commercial property not only provides increased asset value and cashflow, but will soon be essential for maintaining occupancy rates and avoiding obsolescence.
Colliers International performed a detailed valuation of the CBD tower case to show how different levels of upgrade would change its market value. The results supported Arup and Davis Langdon’s finding that an increase in market value in excess of 10 percent was achievable.
To purchase a copy of the Existing Buildings // Survival Strategies II: making it happen publication, which is a companion document to the 2008 booklet, please click on the image to the left.
