A new law in Miami Beach, Fla., requires buildings larger than 7,000 sf to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) specifications or pay a fee that is equal to 5% percent of the construction costs.
New structures larger than 7,000 sf must be LEED Gold certified. LEED Silver certification is required for new buildings larger than 50,000 sf.
LEED Silver is now required on all new Miami-Dade County-owned buildings. The fee was set at 5% based on estimates of how much it typically costs builders to achieve a LEED certification. LEED Gold or Platinum buildings are not required to pay a fee. The fee for LEED Silver structures is about 3%.
The city’s environment and sustainability director told the Miami Herald that the city wants to build a fund for sustainability projects such as building permeable pavements and improving the beach’s tree canopy.
Related Stories
| Sep 16, 2014
Studies reveal growing demand for LEED-credentialed professionals across building sector
The study showed that demand for the LEED Accredited Professional and LEED Green Associate credentials grew 46 percent over a 12-month period.
| Sep 15, 2014
Sustainability rating systems: Are they doomed?
None of the hundreds of existing green building rating systems is perfect. Some of them are too documentation-heavy. Some increase short-term project cost. Some aren’t rigorous enough or include contentious issues, writes HDR's Michaella Wittmann.
| Sep 7, 2014
USGBC + American Chemistry Council: Unlikely partners in green building
In this new partnership, LEED will benefit from the materials expertise of ACC and its member companies. We believe this has the potential to be transformational, writes Skanska USA's President and CEO Michael McNally.
| Sep 3, 2014
New designation launched to streamline LEED review process
The LEED Proven Provider designation is designed to minimize the need for additional work during the project review process.
| Jul 28, 2014
Post Tower Wins CTBUH 10-Year Award
The 10 Year Award recognizes proven value and performance in a tall building, across one or more of a wide range of criteria, over a period of 10 years since its completion.
| Jul 18, 2014
First Green Globes certification given to new University of North Carolina housing facility
The Green Building Initiative announced that the University of North Carolina-Charlotte’s Belk Hall, a student housing facility for the college’s upper division students, is the first building certified under the 2013 Green Globes for New Construction.
| Jul 17, 2014
A harmful trade-off many U.S. green buildings make
The Urban Green Council addresses a concern that many "green" buildings in the U.S. have: poor insulation.
| Jul 10, 2014
BioSkin 'vertical sprinkler' named top technical innovation in high-rise design
BioSkin, a system of water-filled ceramic pipes that cools the exterior surface of buildings and their surrounding micro-climates, has won the 2014 Tall Building Innovation Award from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Jul 10, 2014
New tool aggregates LEED project info for over 150 countries
The U.S. Green Building Council announced the launch of an expanded online data visualization resource that will allow any user to access aggregated LEED green building project information in the more than 150 countries with LEED projects.
| Jul 2, 2014
Emerging trends in commercial flooring
Rectangular tiles, digital graphic applications, the resurgence of terrazzo, and product transparency headline today’s commercial flooring trends.
