As South Florida continues to attract residents and businesses alike and with rising concerns over climate change, sea-level rise, and environmental degradation, the necessity for sustainable construction practices has never been more pressing. South Florida stands at a pivotal juncture where the choices made in construction profoundly influence its future resilience and vitality.

To address these vital issues, women leaders in the South Florida construction industry convened for a roundtable discussion hosted at Suffolk’s Miami office. Moderated by Suffolk’s Senior Director of Sustainability, Steven Burke, and aligned with National Association of Women in Construction’s 26th annual Women in Construction Week, the leaders engaged in insightful dialogue regarding the key drivers behind sustainable construction and development in the region.

Catalysts for sustainable practices

Anna Caruso, principal of well-known architectural firm Arquitectonica, has seen a shift in people’s understanding of development’s impacts on the built and natural environments since entering the industry.

Some of these changes in understanding have been spurred by an estimated 400,000 new residents and businesses entering the region. South Florida native and Suffolk Project Manager Angelina Secondo has seen these changes firsthand. She recalls traveling to Tampa and seeing a similar fast pace of growth. Contractors follow what the developers are hoping to create, but sustainability and smart development requires a second look.

“It’s just nonstop,” she said. “There is so much development in the area and accommodations to be made in order to satisfy developers and builders alike.”

“Among these new arrivals are people from New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles who are accustomed to more sustainable practices in the markets they left behind,” said Jessica Chen, Director of Design and Construction at Swire Properties, Inc. “It’s pushing developers and general contractors need to fill what the market desires.” Other drivers include local and federal guidelines and regulations. One is Miami 21, which represents a vision of “Miami of the 21st Century.” According to the city, the holistic zoning code approach to land use and urban planning includes economic development, historic preservation, parks and open spaces, arts and culture, and transportation. Incorporating elements of New Urbanism and Smart Growth principles, it includes LEED principles from the Green Building Council that seek to deliver heightened efficiency and energy calculations.

Without adherence to zoning guidelines and FEMA regulations, such as ASCE 24, which states the minimum requirements and expected performance for the siting, design and construction of buildings and structures in flood hazard areas, developers likely cannot secure property insurance. But some see even more opportunity. When developers seek cost-saving measures like average elevations in flood-prone areas, Caruso’s team pushes for more.

“Developers might say no, but why wouldn’t you when it’s already happening?” asked Caruso, noting that projects in Tampa, Jacksonville and other markets are compelled by heightened codes to incorporate components such as laminated insulated glass, even when developers may object. “Maybe we can do something that looks a little better, that performs a little better.”

Navigating cost challenges

“To be sure, sustainability isn’t cheap, and cost is the biggest challenge,” Chen said. “The ideas may improve efficiency, even beauty, but developers, builders and investors wonder what the costs will be.”

One area feeling the pain of high costs is addressing Florida’s lack of a solid energy conservation goal.

“Unlike codes that address issues such as flooding or wind velocity, Florida lacks a solid energy conservation goal,” said Power Design, Inc. Regional VP Sandra Alfieri-DellaRocco. Alfieri-DellaRocco is a design-build contractor who works with both developers and builders.

“However, developers arriving from out of state are demanding greater energy conservation,” she said. “What once was limited to EV chargers today includes solar rails for rooftop mounting and other components.”

With future requirements to provide these conversation tools likely, “we need to get used to it,” she said.

Alfieri-DellaRocco suggests that incentives can be a powerful tool to convert those on the fence. Tax credits and other incentives can reduce such costs by a third or more.

Consider an office building Power Design was working on. Energy costs were $24,000 a month. Alfieri-DellaRocco’s team was encouraging the hesitant client to install a $1.2 million rooftop solar system.

Her team then found an investor tax credit program and ran the numbers. The program would cover a third of the cost, or roughly $360,000. Monthly energy costs would be reduced to $600 a month.

At that savings, ROI on the roughly $840,000 investment was three years. “In three years, you’re done,” she said.

Developers building a project intended for sale can be harder to convince. They will never see the ROI, and the pitch would have to convince both the developer and the eventual buyer. Pitched right, the numbers can make the sale.

“It’s about educating everyone upfront,” she said. “It’s time to just do the homework upfront and make the decision early. Something done earlier is cheaper.”

Developers can raise the bar now by beginning to incorporate more sustainable components like solar panels and EV chargers to help compete against “the Joneses.” Falling technology costs help make the argument.

“However, the true embrace comes when developers look at things differently,” Chen said.

Burke agreed, “In almost any conversation about sustainability, cost is the biggest consideration.”

Innovative design solutions

Developers are finding creative ways to build more sustainable buildings, and it all starts in the design stage.

Swire’s development Brickell City Centre incorporates numerous sustainability features, including the novel Climate Ribbon. The concept improves the microclimate by acting as a tree canopy. The Climate Ribbon serves as a sunshade, creates air flow, collects rainwater, and allows natural light to brighten the mall.

“Such innovation is finding its way to other projects, including the suggested use of smart features like laminated insulated glass and photovoltaics,” said Caruso.

Caruso recalled proposing balconies for office buildings the firm worked on a decade ago. Developers balked at the cost and held firmly the conventional belief that office buildings don’t have balconies. Even a condominium developer refused to incorporate balconies. During the design stage, someone on her team sketched an image of the building sweating from the eastern facade. The sketch became reality and bedrooms facing the morning sun were unreasonably warm.

“Planners now understand how shading coefficient reduces heat and increases long-term energy savings and quality of life,” she said. “Not having balconies on that side of the building totally backfired. The amount of work that had to be done by the mechanical contractor to make the building work, even just to have the minimum energy usage, was an incredible feat.” Caruso pointed out that designs for the Miami Beach Convention Center hotel incorporate solar panels and cisterns for collecting water for irrigation, as well as EV chargers to meet county code. “Charging stations require more wall space, and with anticipated need for more EV stations in the future, they’re designing in more wall space and conduits well before the need arises,” she said.

Such added and subtracted “first costs,” or initial costs incurred or avoided during the design and construction phase of a project, like meeting code, incorporating balconies, expanded walls, or conduit, or the downsizing of mechanical systems, may be unavoidable, but can be beneficial in the long run, Burke said.

Protecting the energy grid

“The demand for electrification and decarbonization is outpacing the electrical grid’s current capabilities,” Chen stated. “Future proofing the grid and other infrastructure components, such as lines, poles, and EV charging stations, will struggle to keep up.”

“Suffolk established a sustainability group to explore solutions and opportunities available in the market, and also educate developers on what makes sense for their projects,” Secondo said. As noted previously, while some developers seek to avoid components with added costs, progressive developers will see tomorrow’s value today.

“Sometimes we do it for the right reasons. Sometimes we get pressured into it. As it becomes more commonplace, that over time will bring costs down,” Chen said. She reflected on the Brickell City Centre Climate Ribbon, the relocation of 40 trees donated to Museum Park and the incorporation of the Metro Mover, thereby reducing the need for vehicles. “This is really a game changer, because it really takes off the need for vehicles.”

Tech revolutionizing sustainable construction

“Artificial intelligence, robotics and other technologies are changing the construction sector and playing a major role in advancing sustainability,” Secondo said.

Suffolk currently leverages OpenSpace, Newmetrix, Voyage Control and WINT, among other innovative solutions, including Spot, a robotic dog that walks jobsites to capture data. Suffolk’s 15 years of investment in technologies has demonstrated the benefit of technology and data on jobsites and paved the way for full integration across the entire lifecycle of a building.

AI will even play a role in weather predictions.

“Heat is an under-appreciated weather event,” Burke said. “AI may even help builders anticipate, prepare for or respond to heat and other potentially harmful weather.”

The magic wand

Understanding that sustainability has societal impacts, and goes beyond environmental performance, Burke asked the group what they would like to see in the future if given a magic wand.

“Sustainability is not just a focus on the environment, but people and society,” Burke said.

Alfieri-DellaRocco saw inclusion as a future impact. Her firm recently completed its work on the Broward County Convention Center hotel and exceeded local minority business enterprise requirements. Such local hiring practices “really bring a community together,” she said.

“The more we get the community involved in our builds, that’s the magic wand,” she said.

To Caruso, increasing awareness of the sometimes-catastrophic impacts of climate change will change the conversation. Consider the hurricanes that hit Southern California, or the 190-mph winds recorded in the Tahoe Basin.

“People had to be slapped in the face to start paying attention,” she said.

Secondo believes that the right building design and construction will stand the test of time and prove savvy developers, architects and contractors are prepared to answer the call for more sustainable development.

“What we’re building is going to be here for decades – or centuries,” she said. “On the owner side or developer side, costs are considered. But it’s taking into account what we’re doing for the future. Everything we do now will only help to benefit everybody later.”

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