David Martin Discusses His Experience with Sustainable Real Estate
MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / November 12, 2021 / David Martin of Terra has watched the evolution of real estate across the course of his storied career. This CEO has worked with every asset class in the past, including condos and industrial plants. He discusses the basics of sustainable developments and why they’re so important to our planet.
Sustainable development refers to any building processes that reduce the impact to our environment. As climate change looms ever larger and weather patterns violently shift around the world, it’s never been more important to understand the basics that surround this admittedly vague definition.
David Martin is the CEO of the Terra Group, a property development company with a portfolio valued at around $8 billion. He’s also a firm believer in responsible practices.
Martin says that, first and foremost, sustainability has to extend to every part of the development process. This isn’t just the materials the builders use. From the land to the machinery, there need to be clear steps that limit the pollution and reduce the consumption of finite resources. New developments, remodels, retrofits: even small projects can’t escape.
Sustainability demands people’s attention. It forces everyone from the CEO to the foreman to the workers to confront how decisions impact the people in the area and those beyond its borders.
It can be a difficult concept to implement for construction firms. David Martin says it’s not as straightforward as switching to more environmentally friendly dump trucks or favoring cool roofs to reduce the smog layer.
It means paying attention to where the materials were made and how the overall air quality affects the health of those who live there. Adding any carbon to a location that’s already on the brink will have a bigger effect than on a neighborhood without the same concerns.
David Martin says that point dovetails nicely into the variations we see in this practice. Exactly how sustainable development is applied depends on the project in question and the location it’s being built in.
A commercial building might incorporate sustainable practices in an effort to appeal to employees (e.g., using shaped Heineken bottles as bricks). A residence might lean into sensational green technology, such as window panes controlled by wi-fi.
There are also laws that dictate application rather than leaving it up to chance. States like Washington and California have already passed laws that developers must include solar panels for new construction projects. Every state and municipality has their own approach to the matter, and future regulations will impact the rate of integration for different techniques.
David Martin of Miami says that another major tenet in sustainable building is that it will ultimately save owners money. By spending more in the short term, owners can rely on renewable resources to make that investment worth their while.
Less energy translates to lower utility bills, which can be a substantial line item to cross off. Whether those savings come from geothermal heat or wind power, David Martin reminds people that sustainable development has to consider all of the long-term implications.
It should also mean a reduction in regular maintenance because fewer complex systems (electrical, gas, etc.) will be needed to power the property. Developments like self-healing concrete, while being used largely for municipal projects, may soon make its debuts into construction beyond bridges and roads.
Factoring in everything from financial savings to public sentiment, there’s no turning back for sustainable development. This is an extremely popular movement with less pushback than ever. The high price tags on items like solar panels are starting to dip substantially, and these advancements are leading more and more people to the inevitable conclusion.
David says that construction professionals aren’t known for making big changes to their operations. This is for good reason.
It’s taken established organizations many years to find processes and protocols that keep workers physically protected without impacting the quality of the buildings they erect. However, this reluctance ultimately can’t stop progress from being made.
Too many people are paying attention, the consequences are too dire to ignore.
Martin says that US firms won’t be able to survive if they can’t make at least some concessions to the new world order. This is good news for new players coming onto the field. From technology to botany, there are numerous industries that interact with construction. It’s just a matter of matching the right people with the right goods and services.
For instance, bamboo can now be grown locally instead of having it imported from halfway around the world. Old building techniques that used things like soil and clay are being combined with advanced water run-off systems to make them viable alternatives once again.
With sustainable building, Martin says that people are invited to share their insights on a global level. Rather than closing outsiders off to the mysterious world of building, newcomers are welcomed. This is an effort to have as much talent working on this problem as possible.
This clash between the old-school and modern sensibilities – combined with the practical matter of changing an entire industry that developed during a drastically different era – can make for uneven adoption. Yet these wrinkles are smoothed with every passing year, particularly as more professionals begin to accept how their choices impact their public reputation.
David Martin Discusses the Power of Change
David Martin has built his entire career on understanding real estate development. He knows what separates a good investment from a poor performer. One thing he’s learned is that, regardless of how easy it is to reduce real estate development to numbers, there’s more at stake here. People who breathe air need it to be clean and we won’t always have the resources to keep rebuilding neighborhoods if they keep getting knocked out by inclement weather. It’s why sustainable building has gone from whimsical choice to sheer necessity.
CONTACT:
Caroline Hunter
Web Presence, LLC
+1 7865519491
SOURCE: Terra Group
