Green, for lack of a better word, is good.

Developers, business owners and government organizations across the Tampa Bay area are starting to embrace the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design initiative, an international push to construct offices, homes, schools and hotels that conserve power and water, minimize their effect on the environment, and create healthy places for people to live and work.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED for short, isn't a set of guidelines. It's a rigid set of requirements that architects, engineers and contractors must adopt when they design, build and equip a building. Once the building is complete, it must be reviewed by an independent consultant before the U.S. Green Building Council will certify it as a LEED-compliant building.

Experts say LEED is growing in popularity because developers and owners recognize the benefits to the environment - and to their wallets. Although a LEED-compliant building might cost more to design and construct than a traditional building, operating costs are generally much lower.

"If something's good for the environment - that, frankly, for a lot of years, didn't sell very well," said Joshua Bomstein, business development manager for Clearwater-based Creative Contractors and vice president of the local chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.

"People wanted to do the right thing for the environment, but not it if cost more and took longer," Bomstein said.

Today, builders and owners recognize the "triple bottom line" of environmentally friendly, energy-saving buildings: Besides the obvious environmental advantages, "it's good for people who work and live in the buildings, plus they're good for the owner's pocketbook."

Although every LEED-compliant building is different, experts at the Green Building Council say LEED adds up to 7 percent to the cost of designing and constructing a structure. However, they say that in many cases the increase is minimal, adding just 2 percent or less to the cost. The council's research shows that LEED can lower a building's energy bill by an average of 36 percent, and water bills by an average of 30 percent.

Local Examples Increasing

LEED examples are taking shape on both sides of the Bay:

•Dunedin's new community center, built by Creative Contractors, is built to LEED specifications and will be submitted to the Green Building Council for certification.

•The Sandpearl Resort, under construction in Clearwater Beach, promises to be the state's first LEED-compliant hotel. The luxury resort, which includes hotel condominiums, is expected to open this summer.

•Contractor Skanska USA has started work on an HCC SouthShore Center, a LEED-compliant 57,000-square-foot building in Ruskin.

•Walker Brand Communications, a Tampa-based advertising firm, is planning a LEED-compliant 8,400-square-foot headquarters.

•Several LEED-compliant public schools are in the works for Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties.

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, there are 14 LEED-compliant commercial and public buildings under consideration or under construction in the Tampa Bay area. Combined, those buildings represent 1.1 million square feet of space.

Until recently, people in the Bay area could only find one example of LEED construction: the 6,000-square-foot Happy Feet Plus store in Clearwater.

Happy Feet Plus sells specialty shoes, such as Birkenstocks, at a handful of locations across the Bay area. Co-founder Jane Strong said her business wanted a building to serve as an example for other businesses and reflect the founders' environmentally-friendly philosophy.

The Happy Feet Plus store in Clearwater uses an energy-efficient lighting system. Its 5,000-gallon cistern collects rainwater that is used to help water plants and flush toilets.

Strong said her energy bills are one-third of what it would cost for a traditional building.

"We did this more as an example than a reason to save money," she said. "But we especially do save."

For a major developer such as Crescent Resources LLC, the big question about LEED is whether tenants are willing to pay more for rent to offset the higher construction costs.

High rental prices can deter tenants, and prices for building materials have already risen sharply over the past few years, said Whit Duncan, senior vice president.

However, "we feel that there will be a time in the future when Corporate America would prefer to be in a green building," he said.

In Ruskin, HCC's $15.9 million SouthShore Center is expected to open early next year. HCC predicts it will spend about 24 percent less on energy costs for the LEED-compliant building than it would cost for a traditional building.

Energy-saving features will include a rooftop basin to collect water, heating systems built into the floor, and a design that brings as much natural light as possible into the building.

Barbara Lawson, HCC's chief financial officer and vice president of administration, said the college was interested not just in saving money, but also in being "good environmental stewards and citizens."

In Clearwater, JMC Communities predicts its investment in energy-saving design and equipment at Sandpearl Resort will pay off within five years.

Sandpearl will feature a 200-suite hotel, costing about $80 million, as well as 50 hotel condos. Chief Executive Michael Cheezem said meeting LEED standards has added about $3 million to the cost of construction and design.

The Sandpearl's air conditioning will use chilled water instead of Freon, and the hotel's heat recovery exhaust system will capture heated air and reuse it. A sophisticated power-management system will adjust a room's temperature or shut off the air-conditioning system if a guest leaves an outside door open.

Trade-Offs Necessary

Cheezem said following LEED specifications meant making a few trade-offs. For example, he said, the toilets selected for the resort are very efficient but not his designers' first choice "decorwise." Also, it was difficult to find a shower head that was both efficient and stylish, he said.

However, Cheezem said LEED standards won't compromise the luxury experience at the Sandpearl.

"I think people are much more aware of these issues than they ever have been, both from a resource conservation point-of-view and a global climate point of view," he said. "I think, because of that, people are more likely to want to support an enterprise that builds in an environmentally conscious way."

Reporter Dave Simanoff can be reached at (813) 259-7762.