Not bike related - Affordable Home in Columbus Awarded LEED Platinum Certification

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2009

Media Contact:
Nathan Minerd - (614) 545-4820 office
(614) 432-1484 mobile
Roger Beck – (614) 736-3398 mobile


Affordable Home in Columbus Awarded LEED Platinum Certification
Home is the first Platinum-certified residential home in the Midwest

Columbus, Ohio – The residence at 258 N. 21st Street, in the North of Broad neighborhood of the King Lincoln District of Columbus, Ohio was awarded LEED Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for achievement in green homebuilding. The home is the first Platinum-certified residential dwelling in the State of Ohio and the first in the Midwestern United States. The home was built by a collaboration consisting of non-profits, government, corporate and educational entities.

LEED for Homes (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a national third-party certification system for energy efficient, healthy, green homes. LEED-certified homes complete a technically rigorous process that includes a home energy (HERS) rating and onsite inspections to verify that the home is built to be energy and water efficient, environmentally sound, and a healthier place to live. Green homes have substantially lower utility bills and may qualify for advantageous financing, lower insurance rates and government incentives.

The home was built in cooperation with Roger Beck, a Technology Education teacher, and the students of the college preparatory Home B.A.S.E. class (Building Academic Skills and Experiences), The Home B.A.S.E. Foundation, Columbus Housing Partnership, American Electric Power, the City of Columbus, NeighborWorks ® America, Limited Brands Foundation, The Home Depot, Betsy Pettit, FAIA, The Building Science Corporation Inc., Contract Lumber, Josh Lloyd, Associate AIA, LEED AP, Phillip Markwood Architects, and Sullivan Bruck Architects.

“The U.S. Green Building Council is proud to help celebrate the product of this collaborative effort and their commitment to greener living,” said Michelle Moore, Senior Vice President of Policy & Market Development, U.S. Green Building Council. “Their leadership, demonstrated at 258 N. 21st Street, is at the national forefront of quality; and their example can help us all to live better by reducing our environmental footprint, cutting our utility bills, and coming home to a healthier place to live.”

“We are proud to be involved in such a groundbreaking project,” said Amy Klaben, President/CEO of Columbus Housing Partnership. “This collaborative effort with a wide range of partners, including students from our community, will demonstrate to our state and the nation that innovation and great design can help us protect our environment and save our planet.”

“This project demonstrates that by engaging in real twenty-first century problems, students will learn the twenty-first century skills and knowledge necessary to solve our nation’s most pressing issues concerning energy, the environment, and education,” said Roger Beck, Home B.A.S.E. class teacher and contractor of the home.

A Community Open House is scheduled for Thursday, May 21, 2009. At that time, tours will be available for the media. For more information, please visit www.chpcolumbus.org.

About the Home
The home features an innovative two kilowatt Solar Electric (or Photovoltaic) System that creates renewable, non-polluting electricity for the home. When the system produces more energy than the home can use, the energy is sold back to the energy company. The home also features a Solar Thermal System that will save residents 70% on the cost of their domestic water needs by harnessing on water heating by harnessing the renewable, non-polluting energy of the sun.

Many local, recycled materials were used to build and decorate the home. Local materials require less energy to transport, and bolster the local economy. Recycled materials save useful matter from landfill, while simultaneously avoiding the usage of more resources and energy for material production and transportation.

The home was built with innovative waste reducing techniques, which resulted in less wood and related materials being used and transported. A sustainable landscape was created that includes a backyard rain garden to absorb water runoff from the home’s roof. Because the water does not reach the City’s storm drains, erosion, pollution, and flooding are reduced. Also, the yard is decorated with native, drought-resistant plants, alleviating the need for irrigation.

The home is located in the North of Broad (NoBo) neighborhood in the historic King Lincoln District, less than a mile away from downtown Columbus, Ohio. Due to the proximity to downtown amenities, neighborhood residents are able to drive less, utilize public transportation, and ride their bikes all over the city.

NoBo features the first residential “green street” in the State of Ohio, made out of recycled asphalt and 968 recycled tires. NoBo’s alley system is part of a pilot program to test the effect of residents using individual garbage containers for their homes. Because, each home has ownership of their trash, there is less littering, overflow, and dumping. You can find out more about the North of Broad Community by visiting www.northofbroad.com.


About the U.S. Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit membership organization whose vision is a sustainable built environment within a generation. Its membership includes corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and other nonprofit organizations. Since UGSBC’s founding in 1993, the Council has grown to more than 14,500 member companies and organizations, a comprehensive family of LEED® green building rating systems, an expansive educational offering, the industry’s popular Greenbuild International Conference and Expo (www.greenbuildexpo.org), and a network of 77 local chapters, affiliates, and organizing groups. For more information, visit http://www.usgbc.org.

About LEED® for Homes
LEED® for Homes is a third-party certification system for high-performance green homes. Developed and administered by USGBC, LEED for Homes awards points to projects in seven categories of environmental performance: Location & Linkages, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality, Energy & Atmosphere, Homeowner Awareness, and Innovation and Design. To date, more than 540 homes have been LEED-certified, and over 13,000 have been registered and are under development. For more information, visit http://www.thegreenhomeguide.org.

About Columbus Housing Partnership
Established in 1987, CHP is a private, nonprofit organization that provides quality, affordable housing and related services to low and moderate income households in Central Ohio. Founded on the belief that a decent and affordable home is the cornerstone of family life and a healthy community, CHP has developed over 4,000 single and multifamily affordable homes and has served over 23,000 people. CHP also offers homeownership and foreclosure prevention counseling, affordable rental housing and homeownership opportunities. For more Information, visit http://www.chpcolumbus.org.

About the Home B.A.S.E. Class
Home B.A.S.E. was created by teachers in 1996 and successfully ran for ten years and built eleven homes in two Central Ohio counties. The program was a unique and innovative learning community that strove to remake public schooling in America by authentically integrating senior year high school college preparatory coursework with providing affordable housing for America’s working urban families. This class did more to end poverty housing than any other high school class in America. To see the LEED Platinum house being built visit the blog: http://homebase07.blogspot.com.

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Editor's Note: Why did I post this? Because I work at Columbus Housing Partnership. This is an incredible house built by our Homeport division.

We made it into Columbusunderground.com - Thanks Walker

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