PORTLAND, Maine – The growing interest in environmentally friendly “green design” buildings will be a focus of the annual conference of the Maine Real Estate & Development Association (MEREDA) on Thursday, May 24, at the University of Southern Maine’s Abromson Community Education Center.
The keynote speaker for the conference will Kevin Hydes, P.E., chair of the World Green Building Council and immediate past chair of the U.S. Green Building Council. The afternoon session of the conference will focus on innovative commercial real estate financing options. “We are seeing an increasing demand for green buildings in the commercial real estate industry and developers are starting to pay much more attention to both the benefits and challenges of green design,” said Roxane Cole, president of MEREDA. “This is a very timely conference, and we are especially pleased to have a world leader in green design as our keynote speaker.”
USM’s Abromson center, where the conference will be held, is the first U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Certified Gold Building in Maine.
Cole said the conference’s afternoon session on innovative financing will be a good complement to the presentation on green design. “Financing is a key element of any commercial real estate development or transaction and there is always a need to stay informed about new financing products and trends. Our afternoon session will provide a great overview of the options that are available to commercial real estate investors.”
For the first time, the conference also will be available to people in eastern and northern Maine through a video conference link to the University of Maine in Orono.
