Merritt Properties LLC wanted to be ahead of the green-building curve. The Baltimore-based real estate developer designs and constructs office buildings according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, a nationally accepted benchmark for environmental health, sustainable site development and energy conservation.

“We see green building as the mainstream and not a fad,” said Josh Asbury, project manager for Merritt Properties and head of the firm’s green building committee. Merritt has completed one green building, has one in construction and six to 10 in planning.

A green building requires an additional 15 percent of up-front costs, but the buildings create savings and companies can recoup the added expenses in about seven years, said Jacqueline M. Carrera, president and CEO of the Parks & People Foundation, a Baltimore nonprofit that advocates green development.

“I’m surprised at how quickly the interest has escalated, but I’m not surprised the government and business community has caught on to the trend,” she said.

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Green buildings — with on-site renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power — have lower annual operating costs compared with standard structures and save about 10 percent on utility costs each year, according to the Harvard Business Review.

And some good news for developers: Green buildings have 3.5 percent higher occupancy rates, 3 percent higher rent rates and an average increase of 7.5 percent in building values, according to the McGraw-Hill 2006 SmartMarket Report.

In Maryland, developers can also qualify for tax credits for a portion of the cost of a green office building. However, Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposed budget cuts, which he’d have to make unless the General Assembly passes his proposed tax increases and revenue measures in a special session beginning today, include abolishing the state’s $625,000-a-year solar energy grant program.

Last week, T. Rowe Price Group said it would spend $185 million on two new LEED-certified office buildings at its Financial Center Campus in Owings Mills.

The company is following other businesses and going after a “triple-profit line,” investing in “profit, people and planet,” Carrera said. “If you invest in profit and people and trash the Earth, that’s going to catch up with you.”

acannarsa@baltimoreexaminer.com