Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

In recent years, LEED-NC (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for New Construction) has become one of the most widely adopted environmental certification systems in the United States. However, according to some researchers, the adoption of the LEED-NC is perceived to add to construction cost and duration compared to conventional building standards. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the economic benefits of LEED-NC to consider how it can be applied worldwide. This study focuses on the impact of LEED-NC on the appraised unit value of parcels in San Francisco County based on the number of LEED-NC Public Transportation Access (PTA) qualified buses, light rail and commuter rail stops, distance to the closest bus, light rail and commuter rail stops, zoning class and parcel size. As a population of interest, San Francisco County was chosen since it is known as a region with well-organized transportation systems including bus, light rail and commuter rail systems. According to the correlation results, this study shows that the appraised land value is significantly affected by LEED-NC PTA, and is correlated to a higher appraised unit value of land parcels