Louisa Development Group Column

Angie Sanders, Executive Director

Week of January 7, 2008

A New Year means new ideas.

“Economic Development” is made up of many different ideas and factors. One factor that has entered the economic development world recently that was probably unknown to many outside the construction industry is the green building movement. Spurred by worldwide global warming awareness and corporate citizenship, many industries are starting to take hold of this practice.

Green building is much like it sounds: a design and construction practice that promotes the economic health and well-being of the environment, our communities and your families.

Five Star Development Group, Inc announced last month its plans for the country's largest LEED certified $150 million mixed-use campus that will be located on 109 acres in El Paso, Texas adjacent to the Zaragoza Port of Entry between the US and Mexico border.

LEED is the ultimate in certification for green buildings. It stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design. The certified rating system is the national benchmark for the design, construction and operation of green buildings.

Also, look at the CEO’s of GM, HP, GE and others. They will be talking green in their corporate annual reports – some coming out this month. You know something has legs when these companies adopt it, for whatever reason (ie, they may not accept global warming as a human cause, but realize their customers want environmental responsibility). Also a tv network went green for a week recently. It may have looked a bit silly, but is a sign that green is on folks’ minds.

So, what does that mean to us here in Louisa County, Iowa? It means that huge corporations are currently, and will from now on, plan to build green buildings. They are setting the tone for the future of the construction industry. Maybe construction is a little slow right now with the new housing market decreasing. But that won’t last forever. In the meantime, companies who want to stay ahead of the game are developing or marketing products for the green building industry. Those products include highly efficient windows and doors, alternative insulation like cellulose, sustainable wood products, etc.

Even more fascinating, is that if a building wants to be classified as a LEED structure, the builders must obtain materials from within a 500 mile radius (to avoid a large carbon footprint). Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois has pledged that any building built in Macomb or the Quad Cities from now on will be LEED. Those campuses are less than 500 miles away from Wapello’s industrial park and Louisa County.

Just because Louisa County has a small population doesn’t mean that entrepreneurial genius doesn’t exist. Look at what home-grown businesses we already have here. And many of them service and sell to places more than 500 miles away.

Louisa Development Group cannot build a green industrial park or housing complex. And it cannot single-handedly motivate local construction companies to build green either. Right now, it’s very costly and the market is not there yet. But LDG can help with the vision, the business plan, the resources and more. Green building is not traditional, not just for Louisa County, but for America. LDG is not a traditional economic development group. It is prepared to assist movers and shakers and those who want to move and shake but need a boost.

New Year. New ideas. New economies. Why not?