The Home Depot Foundation Announces Winners of 2010 Awards of Excellence for Affordable Housing Built Responsibly
Winning Projects Serve as Model for All Residential Development
(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) ATLANTA - November 18, 2010 - The Home Depot® Foundation today announced the winners of its sixth annual Awards of Excellence for Affordable Housing Built Responsibly. Lopez Community Land Trust in Lopez Island, Washington, was selected as the winner in the homeownership category, and First Community Housing, San Jose, California, was selected as the winner in the rental category. Each winning organization will receive a $75,000 grant and each runner up will received a $25,000 grant to further their goal of producing efficient, healthy and affordable housing. See videos and full case studies at www.homedepotfoundation.org.
The Awards of Excellence for Affordable Housing Built Responsibly identify, recognize and showcase the outstanding and innovative work of nonprofit housing organizations and developers. The award winners were selected based on a number of criteria, including architectural design, building performance and community involvement. In addition, the Foundation paid particular attention to how each project provides ongoing savings and long term affordability for the residents through lower utility, maintenance and transportation costs.
"We believe that healthy, affordable homes are the cornerstone of strong families and thriving communities,” said Kelly Caffarelli, president of The Home Depot Foundation. "The building projects completed by our Awards of Excellence winners demonstrate that by following the principles of energy efficiency and using good quality products and finishes, families can reap the benefits of lower monthly utility costs and healthier surroundings. We are confident that the work done by this year’s award winners will serve as a model for all developers.”
The national winner and the runner up in the Home Ownership category are:
o National Winner – Lopez Community Land Trust, Lopez Island, WA: The Lopez Community Land Trust’s Lopez Common Ground serves as a national model for community collaboration, affordability and sustainability in a rural area. The site footprint, climate, water availability, and wind patterns were carefully considered when constructing the 11 single family homes. This whole-house systems approach has resulted in 60 percent reduced energy and maintenance costs, 30 percent reduced water costs, improved durability and safer indoor air quality for its residents.
o Runner Up- Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC), Boston, MA: On the site of the former Blessed Sacrament Church, JPNDC’s Creighton Commons is a 16-unit condominium project for first-time homebuyers. By incorporating solar panels, a fresh air ventilation system, and water conserving plumbing and fixtures, these homes are 50 percent more energy efficient and 25 percent more water efficient than homes built to code. The renovated homes and the new homes meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver and Gold standards respectively, while only five percent of the development costs were associated with greening the project.
The national winner and the runner up in the Rental category are:
o National Winner – First Community Housing, San Jose, CA: First Community Housing’s Casa Feliz Studios provides developmentally-disabled and low-income residents with a healthy, safe, affordable housing option in the heart of downtown. This beautiful 60-unit Single Room Occupancy (SRO) development meets the U.S Green Building Council’s LEED Gold standards and is a state-wide model for special needs housing. By incorporating energy-efficient design, solar panels, a green roof, and low-emissions materials, residents at Casa Feliz Studios see 25 percent energy savings and 36 percent water savings, yet greening the project added only 1 percent to the total development costs.
o Runner Up – Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation, Chula Vista, CA:
Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation revitalized a distressed and abandoned motel into a beautiful and affordable 42-unit green housing development that meets the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Platinum standards and is 100 percent solar-powered. As a result of the high quality construction, the families who live here save 43 percent on their energy bills and 36 percent on their water bills. To ensure the continuing high-performance of the apartments, all residents receive hands on training and a manual to inform them how to maintain the energy efficient features of their new homes.
Winners were selected from projects submitted by nonprofit housing developers throughout the country. An advisory committee of experts from a variety of affordable housing, community development, building sciences and environmental organizations participated in the selection process. The committee included representatives of Enterprise Community Partners, Forest Stewardship Council, U.S., Global Green USA, Housing Assistance Council, Jay Hall & Associates, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, NeighborWorks America, Nixon Peabody, Southface Energy Institute, U.S. Green Building Council and last year winners Habitat for Humanity St. Louis and National CORE.
Full case studies and videos on each winner are available at www.homedepotfoundation.org.
About The Home Depot Foundation
Created in 2002, The Home Depot Foundation supports nonprofit organizations dedicated to creating and preserving healthy, affordable homes as the cornerstone of sustainable communities. The Foundation’s goal is for all families to have the opportunity to live in healthy, efficient homes they can afford over the long-term; to have access to safe, vibrant parks and greenspaces; and to receive the economic, social and environmental benefits of living in a sustainable community. Since its formation, The Home Depot Foundation has granted $190 million to nonprofit organizations and supported the development of more than 95,000 homes, planted more than 1.2 million trees, and built or refurbished more than 1,875 playgrounds, parks and greenspaces.
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Affordable Housing Built Responsibly? Can it be done? See our Building Healthy Communities Blog.
