The much anticipated Mazza Grandmarc Apartment complex and its 630 beds of graduate housing is progressing, its developers say, despite new environmental requirements the Prince George’s County Council is requiring for several local construction projects.
For Mazza to continue, the housing project – which would be located near the intersection of Route 1 and Hollywood Avenue – needs the commercial portion of the project to be approved or else the developers must pay a $300,000 fine.
Councilman Thomas E. Dernoga also required the building be approved by the U.S. Green Building Council as “LEED certified,” a demand Dernoga has placed onto numerous county construction projects in an effort to improve the deteriorating Anacostia Watershed.
To receive LEED certification, a construction project must comply with prerequisites from each category of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system, which includes preserving water efficiency, energy conservation and indoor air quality. The project must earn a minimum of 26 points to officially be LEED certified.
Dernoga says requiring LEED certification is necessary to improve the community, and he considers those opposing his conditions to be “uninterested in environmental goals.”
“There are so many flooding and erosion issues, particularly in the Paint Branch stream system that feeds into the Anacostia River,” Dernoga said. “It is inappropriate for government officials to continue to ignore these issues.”
Other projects Dernoga has required to meet LEED certification include a new elementary school in Vansville, and the Greenbelt Metro development “has been conditioned for LEED certification,” Dernoga said.
Becoming LEED certified requires an initial registration fee of between $450 and $650, and the average certification fee costs about $2,000, said Ashley Katz, Communications Coordinator for the U.S. Green Building Council.
Developers must also expend additional money to plan the project in accordance with LEED qualifications and purchase more costly, resource efficient supplies. The state offers a tax credit for developers of green buildings, but it often is not enough to cover additional expenses.
“A lot of money is spent working with a design community who might not be equipped for LEED certification,” said Jon Ratner, the director of sustainability initiatives for Ohio-based real estate management and development company Forest City Enterprises. “Developers also have to put in an increased amount of time to understand the demands.”
Forest City Enterprises is currently in the planning stages of a new project called the Konterra Town Center, an urban mixed-use development slated for construction at Contee Road and the planned Intercounty connector in Laurel, a few miles north of the Capital Beltway.
Ratner said demanding LEED certification could result in problems with the developing community, as the environmental standards are not applicable to all project types.
To clarify which projects should use LEED standards, Montgomery County passed a bill in 2006 that states all new non-residential buildings and multi-family residential units larger than 10,000 square feet must earn no fewer than 20 LEED points. The county provides financial incentive, awarding a tax rebate to building owners who obtain at least 24 points.
Prince George’s County has no such ordinance, and Dernoga maintains that official rules such as those enforced by Montgomery County lead developers to meet “minimum standards” and seek waivers.
The Summit Fund of Washington conducted a study in 2004 finding that developers were aware of pollutants threatening the Anacostia, but they had little incentive to incorporate green building into their projects.
A developer who participated in the study asserted his colleagues were “likely to ignore concerns about the environmental impact on the river unless building regulations require them to do so,” according to the report.
James Connolly, executive director of the Anacostia Watershed Society, said storm water run-off is responsible for the abysmal state of local streams. As the county covers more green spaces with pavement, storm water gathers speed, accumulates pollutants such as chemicals, pesticides and oils, and deposits them into the stream. The end result is soil erosion and flooding, along with water contamination, Connolly said.
Connolly said the only way to reverse the continuing degradation of local streams and rivers is to make environmentally sound construction a requirement.
“Developers will not voluntarily do it. There are some unusual forward thinking people who would, but for the most part, it’s something that needs to be enforced,” he said.
Contact reporter Lindsay Kalter at newsdesk@dbk.umd.edu.