Heard about the Triple Bottom Line in Green Building techniques and haven't seen a real life example? Well here you go. . . .
There's a remodel in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle underway with an obvious sense of humor. Green Canopy Home's latest endeavor has the moniker of "Keaton" after the famous actor Buster. If you aren't familiar with this company, they are 'house flippers'. While this might have a negative connotation to some, this partnership has a unconventional business plan. They look for existing homes throughout Seattle to improve and spruce up just like ordinary investors do. What they do differently isn't always easily apparent. Sure they add the usual bells and whistles buyers look for, but they go beyond the obvious and put in energy efficient windows, insulation and install energy efficient heating (and cooling) systems.
Don't trust that behind those walls is what they promise? This company tests the house before and after their improvements with a blower door test and provide the buyer with the Energy Performance Score (EPS). This is an objective measure of efficiency and can give the buyer peace of mind knowing what to expect for heating and cooling bills. The completed houses are certified with Built Green of King and Snohomish Counties.
What Green Canopy Homes also does extremely well is marketing. They get the neighbors involved; you can vote for the exterior paint color on their facebook page (a lesson they learned the hard way and turned it into a positive!). They hold events for the neighbors and the public with behind-thewalls tours, and educate whoever is curious through the whole process. If you happen to tour one of their completed homes there's information about what was done and a real time energy monitor so one can see how much energy is being used in the moment.
Flipping houses in this market is perceived as a risky enterprise. Green Canopy seems to be a great example of the working business model. The neighbors appreciate that the existing homes are kept in scale with the rest of the block. Less waste ends up in landfills. The homes perform much better than they did before and will last for at least a few more generations. In the process people are educated on what a green building is and get excited with the process and results. Green Canopy homes tend to sell for a slightly higher price and typically aren't on the market for long. It's a business idea that seems to work well for everyone involved. A very tangible example of a 'winning!' Triple Bottom Line.
Are you looking for home to do an energy efficient retrofit on? If you would like more information on how to make your house more efficient, we are here to help!
green@cooperjacobs.com
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