March 19, 2007

In December 2006, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, joined by Miami Dade College President Dr. Eduardo Padron, hosted the first of Miami’s Green Building Forums at Miami Dade College’s downtown Wolfson Campus to discuss the introduction and implementation of energy-efficient Green Building standards into the city’s building code. The event was organized in partnership with the Earth Ethics Institute at Miami Dade College and the South Florida Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. Ground has been broken on numerous green construction projects in Miami already, and will boast the first green office high-rise building in Florida.

As part of the effort towards incorporating green and energy efficient measures into the city’s building code, Diaz and the city also hosted a town-hall meeting at Miami city hall with the local development community and subject matter experts. Because such efficiency standards and regulations are new to Miami, Diaz’s goal was to have panelists explain their own first-hand experience with green building design and then focus on the forum on a question and answer discussion. The keynote address at the city hall meeting was delivered by the British Consul General in Miami Keith Allan. Panelists included Rob Hink, Public Policy Chairman, U.S. Green Building Council South Florida; William Holly, President of Holly Real Estate; Marina Khoury, Senior Project Manager of Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company; Chad Oppenheim, Founding Principal of Oppenheim Architecture and Design; Christina Casado-Acorn, Office of Community Image, Miami-Dade County; and Jose Fuentes, Director of South Florida Water Management District.