NEW YORK, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Green building is booming, but new buildings account for less than 2.5% of the U.S. building market each year. Retrofits of existing structures, a tremendous market opportunity for green builders, owners and building product manufacturers, are the focus of McGraw-Hill Construction's latest SmartMarket Report, Green Building Retrofit & Renovation: Rapidly Expanding Market Opportunities Through Existing Buildings, released today at the Green Retrofit Conference in New York. According to the report, green building currently comprises 5-9% of retrofit and renovation market activity by value--equating to a $2-4 billion marketplace for major projects. By 2014, that share is projected to grow to 20-30%--a $10-15 billion market for major retrofit projects in just five years.

"It is critically important that 20-30% of all retrofit and renovation activity will be green in five years because 98% of our buildings already exist, and they represent some of our most inefficient buildings," said Harvey Bernstein, vice president of global thought leadership and business development, McGraw-Hill Construction. "This is a $10-15 billion market opportunity in major projects alone, and it will significantly contribute to the expansion of green products and services, which will have a long-term impact on our future economy and ability to build green."

The first report of its kind, the Green Building Retrofit & Renovation SmartMarket Report, profiles more than 20 projects to provide qualitative insights and offers cutting-edge research data to the growing green building industry. Highlights of the report findings include:

  --  Market opinion and indicators suggest much higher levels of activity
      long-term for retrofits and renovations overall as well as for the
      green share, which is expected to reach a tipping point in 10 to 15
      years. At this time, half of all retrofits and renovations will be
      green.
  --  Owners and tenants with green retrofit experience are likely to do
      more green retrofit projects. 70% of owners who have engaged in green
      retrofit or renovation activities are planning to continue to do so
      for over 15% of future projects; 24% will do so on over 60% of
      projects. Tenants fall into two extremes: one-third are committed to
      green retrofits for over 60% of projects, while 17% are not yet
      committed.

  --  The downturn is encouraging the adoption of energy- and
      water-efficient practices in renovation projects. 62% of owners expect
      the savings achieved from energy efficiency improvements to recoup
      their investments within 10 years. The most frequently applied
      features include energy-efficient lighting or natural lighting. Nearly
      all (92%) also report installing more energy-efficient mechanical and
      electrical systems.

The Green Building Retrofit & Renovation SmartMarket Report was produced with support from Autodesk, CB Richard Ellis, Siemens, UL Environment, Inc., and the U.S. Green Building Council. For more information or to download the report, visit http://construction.ecnext.com/coms2/analyticshttp://construction.com/market_r esearch/.

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