In a recent article, the Chicago Tribune covered the story of a housing development in the making. While the paper has covered countless numbers of ongoing property development projects, this one is unique in that it is Habitat for Humanity’s largest project of its kind in the nation.
On the west edge of River Falls, Wisconsin, Habitat for Humanity crews are building an eco-village on a previously neglected site along the edge of downtown River Falls, about 40 miles east of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The eco-village, which will have 18 single-family and attached homes as well as a park is expected to reduce the cost of energy for homeowners. It will create its own power through a combination of solar panels, geothermal heating and other energy-saving measures. The houses will be heated and cooled with photovoltaic arrays on the roofs and a geothermal heat pump system, and the walls, floors and ceilings are expected to exceed insulation requirements. Rainwater will be harvested for landscaping and gardening. The residents will grow herbs, fruits and vegetables in a community garden and an "edible landscape" that will surround houses, and will also reduce their footprint by sharing a car with neighbors. Since the village is expected to produce more energy than it can consume, it will then sell the power back to utility companies.
While there has been a big push socially and by the government for a reduction in energy consumption in the country, the housing industry has lagged behind most other sectors in going green. Many developers have been reluctant about taking on large scale eco-friendly projects, fearing that the cost of such would affect the bottom line. The nonprofit organization is hoping that the development will serve as a national model, showing for-profit developers that homes can be energy-efficient and economical on a large scale. It also hopes to create affordable housing at a time when mortgages have become tougher to get.
Around the country there have been other such successful projects. The Via Verde affordable housing complex , which means “the green way” recently opened in the Bronx, New York and is expected to show the in renewable energy housing. It was developed by Phipps Houses, a non-profit group, and was the winning concept submitted to the New Housing New York Legacy Competition, a juried design competition for affordable and sustainable housing. The complex features 151 units of affordable rental housing and 71 moderate-income co-op units oriented around a community garden and a series of green roofs. These green areas serve as both a central architectural element and hubs for the community, with the gardens located in a courtyard of the building and the green roofs where the building steps up from 3-story townhouses at the south to a 20-story tower at the north.
As non-profit organizations lead the way in renewable energy housing, it remains to be seen if the benefits of such housing can create enough demand in the general public to entice the for-profit developers into exploring the new trend. Yet, as the prospects of depletion of natural resources continue to grow and Americans decide they do not wish to be dependent on foreign oil, there is a real possibility that this ‘Green’ trend can kick into high gear. Additionally, those factors do not take into consideration home owners who wish to achieve lower home ownership costs by living in a ‘Green’ house in a ‘Green’ development. It is currently unclear which factor will be the ‘driving force’ for adoption of sustainable and energy efficient housing, but the number of reasons are growing.
Michael Hobbs, PahRoo Appraisal & Consultancy
Twitter @Pahroo
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