This week we had Ted Sanderson, the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission, to talk about "The 22nd Annual Historic Preservation Conference" being held on April 14, 2007. Which is making the case for adaptive reuse as a fundamentally green strategy. A community can benefit in many ways from recycling buildings into useful structures instead of destroying them. In adaptive reuse, the structure is stabilized and historic materials are saved and strenghtened as much as possible. The building regains its vitality and its use is sustainable. There are numerous benefits for adaptive reuse as opposed to demolition and new construction. 1: Creates sightseeing appeal. 2: Models sustainable development to the community. 3: Lowers total development costs. 4: Allows for other site projects such as public gardens or parks. 5: Reduces construction resources needed. 6: Sustains existing Footprint. 7: Historically appropriate materials are often "Greener".This Week's Real Estate Insight: Adaptive reuse will soon become more prevalent than new construction. Historic buildings still in use or adapted for new use embody energy that would be wasted during demolition and reconstruction. Old buildings are supported by existing infrastructure like roads, sewers, power, and water, further adding to the environmental and financial savings.
