Square footage of LEED-certified existing buildings surpasses new construction

LEED-certified existing buildings are outpacing their newly built counterparts, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. As of this December 2011, square footage of LEED-certified existing buildings surpassed LEED-certified new construction by 15 million square feet on a cumulative basis, according to a Dec. 7 USGBC release.

Historically, USGBC has seen the stock of LEED-certified green projects overwhelmingly made up of new construction projects, both in volume and square footage. That began to change in 2008, when the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance program began experiencing explosive growth, according to the release. In 2009, projects certified under LEED for Existing Buildings: O&M surpassed those certified under its new construction counterpart on an annual basis, a trend that continued in 2010 and 2011.

"This new data marks the first time that LEED-certified existing buildings have surpassed LEED-certified new construction cumulatively," said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, USGBC, in the release. "The market is becoming increasingly aware of how building owners can get better performance through green operations and maintenance, and tools such as LEED for Existing Buildings: O&M are essential to cost-effectively driving improvements in our economy and environment."

In their Green Outlook 2011 report, McGraw Hill Construction found that by 2015, the green share of the largest commercial retrofit and renovation activity will more than triple, growing to 25 percent to 33 percent of the activity by value—a $14 to $18 billion opportunity in major construction projects alone, the release states.

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