Page 224 - The Green Building Bottom Line The Real Cost of Sustainable Building

202 CHAPTER 7

Figure 7.1 A digital rendering of the Birmingham Federal Reserve
& Tower project.

its, New Markets Tax Credits, an incentive package from the City of Birmingham, and out-
side equity partners. While we need to stay true to our ethos of under-promising and over-
delivering, we somewhat paradoxically need to generate enough excitement from key
constituencies to make it a reality without overstating what we can deliver. More than
anything else however, this project has forced us, as has no other project yet, has to make
a compelling case for sustainable development to three distinct but critical groups:

1 The potential end-users we are seeking as tenants;
2 The institutional investors that will provide the necessary equity infusion; and
3 The city, which in being persuaded by the social and financial benefits of our proj-
ect, is providing an economic assistance package in support of the project.

In short, we need to prove to these diverse groups the financial, social, and envi-
ronmental benefits of becoming stakeholders in our project. We are speaking the same
language of benefits to each constituency. However, the basket of benefits to each
looks somewhat different.