Case Name :      The Green Duplex

Authors :           John J. Lawrence

Source :             North American Case Research Association (NACRA)

Case ID :            NA0058

Discipline :        Entrepreneurship

Case Length :    18 pages

Solution sample availability : YES

Plagiarism : NO (100% Original work)

Sean and Rachel McFarland had decided to build an environmentally friendly “green” duplex as an investment for their retirement. Sean had been working with a builder on the design, and had recently received an updated cost estimate from the builder that was 35% higher than the original estimate. Sean is trying to figure out what type of return the project will produce compared to equivalent, non-green investments, how he might reduce the cost of the duplex to improve the return without sacrificing the ‘greenness’ of the project, and whether or not he should proceed with the project at all. Uncertainty about how much rent the green duplex can generate, ambiguity about which design elements are most important from the standpoint of building green, and the existence of multiple goals for the project all make the decision of what to do more difficult for Sean.