More REITS are getting in the act of repositioning the very office space they actually office out of, but they are also repositioning the buildings in their major markets in order to get corporate LEED EB leases. Wells REIT is obviously repositioning a chunk of their portfolio not just for themselves but because that is what the market is demanding. This is a trend we are seeing across all major markets. Commercial property owners can't move fast enough to renovate their buildings for the ever demanding energy efficiency market.
Corporations that need to market themselves (like Novartis) for one reason or the other as energy efficient conscience or "going green" are looking for leases in LEED certified buildings. They must do this because consumers are watching ever move corporations make. It all goes back to their marketing communications to the public, their investors and the government. Because of these new corporate responsibilities the CRE market is scrambling to reposition their portfolios.
After all, how would it look for a large consumer brand corporation like GEICO to be saying they are energy efficient focused and care about the environment in their TV ads but then Dateline NBC finds out that their 45,000 sqft headquarters is in a energy hog building?
The pressure to become energy efficient and environmentally responsible is coming from all directions. The financial roadblocks of doing so will become more and more profound over the next few years. Banks aren't lending like they used to, and probably won't ever again.
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