All six of the center's new office buildings will be developed according to the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards. As LEED-certified buildings, they will use mostly recyclable materials, and incorporate features that will help conserve energy and reduce water consumption.
"They are green in every way," O'Neill, the company chairman and founder, said during yesterday's groundbreaking ceremony on the 100-acre site in Bensalem, which his company acquired in 2002. "They are made of green glass, green metal panels, and green windows, so the buildings will actually be green in color."
O'Neill showcased some of the green materials yesterday, including glass shards that he said would be incorporated into the flooring and a sample of synthetic carpeting made from recycled plastic soda bottles.
O'Neill said plans called for Horizon to be fully built out by late 2012 or early 2013.
Land-use and commercial real estate experts say the green movement among builders has definitely gained traction in the last five years.
"This is something that has been going on for a long time, but is now hitting the tipping point," said Kenneth Balin, chairman of the Philadelphia District Council of the Urban Land Institute, an education and research group that focuses on responsible land use and creating sustainable communities.
Balin, who is also president of AMC Delancey Group Inc., a Philadelphia real estate development and investment company, said builders were discovering it was not as expensive as they thought to install solar panels or position a building to make better use of natural light.
