Readers Comment on Rising Energy Costs

The Winds of Change... Move to the city, occupy a green building, and start walking! That's a facetious summary of responses to the Dispatch, How Will Rising Energy Prices Impact Real Estate? (Sep 6).

Charlie Kuffner, president of Swinerton Builders, Northern California, writes, "Maybe many more commercial real estate investors will start building energy efficient buildings! ... I'd like to think that more and more building owners might also be installing photovoltaic cells on their roofs to generate electricity and use skylights instead of artificial lighting more. ... See SwintertonGreen for ideas on how to make these GREEN ideas into reality."

Edward Miller with Colliers Arnold in Tampa, FL, is blunter. "Suburban sprawl nourished by cheap gas and subsidized road transport is as dead as the dinosaur -- or Hummer. ... Urban redevelopment, short commute times and conservation are suddenly imperative. This could even provoke a national energy policy. What’s changed? Everything."

Steven Hufendick with ING Americas Corporate Real Estate in Minneapolis believes leases should change. "Perhaps increases in energy prices will prompt markets / landlords / product segments that still use gross leases or some variant thereof to join the rest of the civilized real estate world and go to leases on a net basis!"

Jay Rickey, Associate Publisher at the Real Estate Publishing Group in Chicago, mentions the research of Dr. Lawrence Frank, which concludes that society would benefit if higher urban densities encouraged people to walk more. That's because for every thirty minutes spent in a car each day, obesity is three percent more likely, and obesity leads to diabetes, a growing health problem.

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