NAHB Honors Green Housing Projects

Washington, DC, May 11--Home building industry leaders honored the best in green residential design and outstanding advocacy efforts at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) National Green Building Awards.

In a trying year for the home building industry, when housing starts dropped to record lows in a sputtering economy, green homes represent "hope and the future, and the future is green home building," emcee Don Ferrier said.

The winners were:

Concept Home of the Year: CVH Inc., for a home in Coupeville ,Wash.

Affordable Home of the Year: Imagine Homes, San Antonio, Texas. The company noted for its cost-effective techniques to attract first-time buyers was honored for the second year in a row.

Luxury Home of the Year: Solaire Homebuilders of Bend, Ore. With beautiful interior finishes, this custom home was built with reclaimed and recycled materials and designed to be 60 percent more energy efficient than required by code.

Production Home of the Year. Celebrate by Del Webb, an active-adult community in Fredericksburg, Va., is taking green features to a larger scale and now certifying the homes in this new development to the National Green Building Standard.

Single-family Remodeling Project of the Year. Honors went to Red-B Construction for a Durham, N.C., extensive use of deconstruction techniques that improve resource efficiency.

Multifamily Remodeling Project of the Year. Hardwick G.C. Inc. of Orlando, Fla., turned an early 20th-century bungalow into a duplex.

Multifamily Rental Project of the Year. Tonti Properties' 270-unit community in Frisco, Texas, is the first Energy Star-certified development in the region. The company created an on-site tree farm during contruction to enable landscapers to replant trees moved during the building process.

Condominium Project of the Year. Onion Flats LLC of Philadelphia created an 8-unit infill project in the Northern Liberties neighborhood featuring slick, modern design, solar panels, green roofs and great city views.

Townhouse Project of the Year. Asdal Builders LLC was honored for a New Jersey rental development that caters to senior citizens and focuses on sustainable, low-maintenance design and cost-effective geothermal heating.

Development of the Year. The community of Woodlands Edge in Little Rock, Ark., developed by Rocket Properties LLC has nature trails, wildlife preservation areas and an extensive education program for its residents focused on environmental stewardship of the grounds.

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