Green Florida: State-of-the-Art
Just a few years ago, searching for a green home in Tampa Bay—or for a local builder who specialized in environmentally sensitive housing—was a bit like searching for a needle in a proverbial haystack.
????While there was a chance you’d find what you were looking for, the odds weren’t good. Green homes accounted for less than 1 percent of the U.S. home market in 2005 and the concept was virtually unheard-of locally.?
????In the past three years, however, the seeds of change planted earlier have blossomed into a dramatically changed homebuilding industry.
????In 2005 green homes fetched about $2 billion nationally. But by 2010 that number is expected to leap to $20 billion, or more than 10 percent of the market, according to the 2007 McGraw-Hill SmartMarket Construction Report on Attitudes & Preferences for Remodeling and Buying Green Homes.?
????Recent green-focused events, such as Tampa’s Going Green Expo at the University of South Florida’s Sun Dome and Orlando’s Green Expo at the Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County Convention Center, are raising awareness among Florida consumers of eco-friendly building and lifestyles.?
????Those gatherings featured product exhibits and workshops that addressed such topics as saving energy and building sustainable homes. And strong attendance indicated that consumers concerned about high energy prices, global warming and pollution-related health issues are now embracing a greener lifestyle.
????In response homebuilders are getting on board. In February, more than 92,000 builders from around the globe showed up for the 2008 International Builders’ Show, a major event that featured green events, products, seminars and a designated “green day.”
????Much of what builders saw and learned at the show, which is sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), is being adapted for the Tampa Bay market, including innovative features and concepts displayed in the event’s official showcase home, the New American Home ‘08.?
????The demonstration project used green features such as autoclaved, aerated concrete blocks, a solar hot-water system, tankless water heaters, spray foam insulation, an unvented attic and a cupola that draws air up and out of the house.
????It was the first show home to be certified gold through a voluntary national green building program created by NAHB and launched at the builders’ event.?
????At least 70 other local or regional green building programs currently exist throughout the country, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. In Tampa Bay, builders and developers are taking advantage of various initiatives to green up the local housing market.?
????In St. Petersburg, a home constructed by Tampa-based REAL Building recently achieved Florida’s first gold-level certification through the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program.
LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a rating system for high-performance green buildings that is managed by the U.S. Green Building Council. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom home, which was part of the LEED for Homes pilot program, is one of only 19 gold-certified homes in the country.?
????Located at 216 84th Ave. N.E., the 2,000-square-foot home showcases green products, materials and concepts including structurally insulated panels, recycled glass countertops, bamboo flooring, a cistern and an in-house filtered grey water system to help with re-use of water.?
????A geothermal air-conditioning system uses the Earth’s constant temperature six feet below its surface to heat and cool the home. As a result, it’s expected to use up to 70 percent less energy and 40 percent less water than a comparable home without green features.
????“The project derived from the desire to build a responsible, efficient, healthy home,” says Darren Brinkley, president of REAL Building, a green consulting and development firm.
????A pond on the property was designed to use water discharged from the whole-house dehumidifier, which means the pond will never need to be topped off.?
????Also, a constant flow of water is released into the wetland area, which creates a habitat for birds, butterflies and other wildlife. The waterfall is powered by a solar water pump that oxygenates the water to keep it fresh and healthy.?
????More Tampa Bay projects are planned, Brinkley says, including a waterfront home in St. Petersburg that will seek certification through the Florida Green Building Coalition as well as the LEED for Homes program.
????“We’re aiming for platinum LEED-certification on that one,” Brinkley says. “That’s a step above gold.”
????At least five other homes in Florida have been certified by the LEED program. Meanwhile, the Florida Green Building Coalition this year has been certifying homes built by several Tampa Bay builders, including John Cannon Homes, Ashton Woods, In Town Homes, M/I Homes, and Inland Homes.
????Area builders are quickly moving toward more sustainable construction by educating buyers about greener choices and by pledging to build only energy-efficient or green homes in the future.
Standard Pacific Homes, for example, is in the testing stage to have its homes Energy Star certified. John Cannon Homes has already announced that all of its future homes will be built to meet or exceed Florida Green Building Coalition guidelines while Hannah Bartoletta Homes is assembling a green options package for homebuyers.
????Company President Charley Hannah says the positive impact of building in more sustainable ways will add up over the long term. “We started [building green] in a market that was in decline,” he notes. “We’ve taken a very deliberate pace.”
????Ashton Woods Homes is demonstrating environmental stewardship in The Landings at Port Tampa, where several homes have been certified by the Florida Green Building Coalition. “This is our newest community and we will continue our green building certification process in our other communities,” says Joseph Musca, president of the company’s Tampa division.
????Located at Interbay Boulevard and Wall Street, The Landings at Port Tampa will consist of 129 single-family homes priced from the high $200s. Among the offerings are five floorplans and a variety of architectural styles including traditional, Craftsman, Key West and Mediterranean.?
????Longleaf, a Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) in New Port Richey, was developed and designed with sustainability in mind. Crosland, which has offices in Tampa, is in the process of obtaining a green development designation through the Florida Green Building Coalition.?
????Like most TNDs, Longleaf boasts pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, retail and office space within walking distance of homes and numerous conservation and wetland areas. Inland Homes, one of the builders in the community, will only offer homes built to Florida Green Building standards.
????On display during the Pasco Building Association’s 2008 Parade of Homes was an eco-friendly model home being built by Lutz-based Siebel Falls Homes.?
????Located in the Land O’ Lakes community of Alsace, the Colmar model was built with durable, energy-efficient pre-cast panel walls, reflective roof shingles, an on-demand hot water heating system and a photovoltaic system, which converts sunlight into electricity.?
????The 2,645-square-foot home was still under construction during the parade event, allowing tour-goers to view such typically hidden features as spray-foam insulation. The energy-efficient touches should save the homeowner at least $80 each month, according to the builder.
????Siebel Falls Homes plans to seek certification through the Florida Green Building Coalition and the Energy Star program for the Colmar and for all its future homes. “It’s just a smart way to go,” says Joe Chajkowski, project manager.
????Alsace, a French-inspired neighborhood, will encompass just 19 homes, all of which will incorporate solar hot-water heating, Energy Star appliances and lighting and Florida-friendly landscaping.?
????By the end of 2007, nearly 100,000 homes across the country had been certified green, according to NAHB. More than 1,500 of those homes are in Florida and many more are in the works this year.
????As the green building movement picks up steam, other local homebuilders and developers are jumping on the bandwagon in part because it helps the environment and in part, because it helps their bottom line. But either way, the end result is a larger selection of high-performance homes, says Brinkley.
????“There are builders who want to be involved in green building for the right reasons and there are others who want to do it to sell,” he says. “You can [build] green because you’re a tree hugger or because you’re a capitalist and it doesn’t matter—as long as they do it properly.”???
????While there was a chance you’d find what you were looking for, the odds weren’t good. Green homes accounted for less than 1 percent of the U.S. home market in 2005 and the concept was virtually unheard-of locally.?
????In the past three years, however, the seeds of change planted earlier have blossomed into a dramatically changed homebuilding industry.
????In 2005 green homes fetched about $2 billion nationally. But by 2010 that number is expected to leap to $20 billion, or more than 10 percent of the market, according to the 2007 McGraw-Hill SmartMarket Construction Report on Attitudes & Preferences for Remodeling and Buying Green Homes.?
????Recent green-focused events, such as Tampa’s Going Green Expo at the University of South Florida’s Sun Dome and Orlando’s Green Expo at the Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County Convention Center, are raising awareness among Florida consumers of eco-friendly building and lifestyles.?
????Those gatherings featured product exhibits and workshops that addressed such topics as saving energy and building sustainable homes. And strong attendance indicated that consumers concerned about high energy prices, global warming and pollution-related health issues are now embracing a greener lifestyle.
????In response homebuilders are getting on board. In February, more than 92,000 builders from around the globe showed up for the 2008 International Builders’ Show, a major event that featured green events, products, seminars and a designated “green day.”
????Much of what builders saw and learned at the show, which is sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), is being adapted for the Tampa Bay market, including innovative features and concepts displayed in the event’s official showcase home, the New American Home ‘08.?
????The demonstration project used green features such as autoclaved, aerated concrete blocks, a solar hot-water system, tankless water heaters, spray foam insulation, an unvented attic and a cupola that draws air up and out of the house.
????It was the first show home to be certified gold through a voluntary national green building program created by NAHB and launched at the builders’ event.?
????At least 70 other local or regional green building programs currently exist throughout the country, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. In Tampa Bay, builders and developers are taking advantage of various initiatives to green up the local housing market.?
????In St. Petersburg, a home constructed by Tampa-based REAL Building recently achieved Florida’s first gold-level certification through the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program.
LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a rating system for high-performance green buildings that is managed by the U.S. Green Building Council. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom home, which was part of the LEED for Homes pilot program, is one of only 19 gold-certified homes in the country.?
????Located at 216 84th Ave. N.E., the 2,000-square-foot home showcases green products, materials and concepts including structurally insulated panels, recycled glass countertops, bamboo flooring, a cistern and an in-house filtered grey water system to help with re-use of water.?
????A geothermal air-conditioning system uses the Earth’s constant temperature six feet below its surface to heat and cool the home. As a result, it’s expected to use up to 70 percent less energy and 40 percent less water than a comparable home without green features.
????“The project derived from the desire to build a responsible, efficient, healthy home,” says Darren Brinkley, president of REAL Building, a green consulting and development firm.
????A pond on the property was designed to use water discharged from the whole-house dehumidifier, which means the pond will never need to be topped off.?
????Also, a constant flow of water is released into the wetland area, which creates a habitat for birds, butterflies and other wildlife. The waterfall is powered by a solar water pump that oxygenates the water to keep it fresh and healthy.?
????More Tampa Bay projects are planned, Brinkley says, including a waterfront home in St. Petersburg that will seek certification through the Florida Green Building Coalition as well as the LEED for Homes program.
????“We’re aiming for platinum LEED-certification on that one,” Brinkley says. “That’s a step above gold.”
????At least five other homes in Florida have been certified by the LEED program. Meanwhile, the Florida Green Building Coalition this year has been certifying homes built by several Tampa Bay builders, including John Cannon Homes, Ashton Woods, In Town Homes, M/I Homes, and Inland Homes.
????Area builders are quickly moving toward more sustainable construction by educating buyers about greener choices and by pledging to build only energy-efficient or green homes in the future.
Standard Pacific Homes, for example, is in the testing stage to have its homes Energy Star certified. John Cannon Homes has already announced that all of its future homes will be built to meet or exceed Florida Green Building Coalition guidelines while Hannah Bartoletta Homes is assembling a green options package for homebuyers.
????Company President Charley Hannah says the positive impact of building in more sustainable ways will add up over the long term. “We started [building green] in a market that was in decline,” he notes. “We’ve taken a very deliberate pace.”
????Ashton Woods Homes is demonstrating environmental stewardship in The Landings at Port Tampa, where several homes have been certified by the Florida Green Building Coalition. “This is our newest community and we will continue our green building certification process in our other communities,” says Joseph Musca, president of the company’s Tampa division.
????Located at Interbay Boulevard and Wall Street, The Landings at Port Tampa will consist of 129 single-family homes priced from the high $200s. Among the offerings are five floorplans and a variety of architectural styles including traditional, Craftsman, Key West and Mediterranean.?
????Longleaf, a Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) in New Port Richey, was developed and designed with sustainability in mind. Crosland, which has offices in Tampa, is in the process of obtaining a green development designation through the Florida Green Building Coalition.?
????Like most TNDs, Longleaf boasts pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, retail and office space within walking distance of homes and numerous conservation and wetland areas. Inland Homes, one of the builders in the community, will only offer homes built to Florida Green Building standards.
????On display during the Pasco Building Association’s 2008 Parade of Homes was an eco-friendly model home being built by Lutz-based Siebel Falls Homes.?
????Located in the Land O’ Lakes community of Alsace, the Colmar model was built with durable, energy-efficient pre-cast panel walls, reflective roof shingles, an on-demand hot water heating system and a photovoltaic system, which converts sunlight into electricity.?
????The 2,645-square-foot home was still under construction during the parade event, allowing tour-goers to view such typically hidden features as spray-foam insulation. The energy-efficient touches should save the homeowner at least $80 each month, according to the builder.
????Siebel Falls Homes plans to seek certification through the Florida Green Building Coalition and the Energy Star program for the Colmar and for all its future homes. “It’s just a smart way to go,” says Joe Chajkowski, project manager.
????Alsace, a French-inspired neighborhood, will encompass just 19 homes, all of which will incorporate solar hot-water heating, Energy Star appliances and lighting and Florida-friendly landscaping.?
????By the end of 2007, nearly 100,000 homes across the country had been certified green, according to NAHB. More than 1,500 of those homes are in Florida and many more are in the works this year.
????As the green building movement picks up steam, other local homebuilders and developers are jumping on the bandwagon in part because it helps the environment and in part, because it helps their bottom line. But either way, the end result is a larger selection of high-performance homes, says Brinkley.
????“There are builders who want to be involved in green building for the right reasons and there are others who want to do it to sell,” he says. “You can [build] green because you’re a tree hugger or because you’re a capitalist and it doesn’t matter—as long as they do it properly.”???
If your company is involved in green building and you have a related story idea, email kimh@florida-homebuyer.com.