by Brianna Crandall — July 1, 2016 — The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced this week the recipients of its annual LEED Homes Award program, which recognizes projects, architects, developers and homebuilders who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and innovation in the residential green building marketplace.
The LEED Homes Award winners include multifamily, single-family and affordable housing projects and companies that are trailblazers in the residential sector and have prioritized incorporating sustainability within their projects in 2015 by implementing strategies that positively impact the environment and enhance the health and well-being of their occupants.
This year, for the first time, the awards also recognize the “LEED Homes Power Builders,” which USGBC developed to honor an elite group of developers and builders who have exhibited an outstanding commitment to LEED and the green building movement within the residential sector. Entrants had to have certified 90 percent of their homes / unit count built in 2015 to any LEED certification level for consideration.
2015 LEED Homes Award winners
Project of the Year: The Woodlawn, Portland, OR
Developed by SolTerra, The Woodlawn is a LEED Platinum, 18-unit mixed-use apartment building featuring innovative design and construction strategies shaped to reconnect occupants with nature. It was constructed with primarily reclaimed and highly renewable materials, and features 4,500 sq. ft. of ecoroof, an outdoor roof terrace, and 1,100 sq. ft. of living wall siding.
Outstanding Single-Family Project: The Taft School Faculty Residence, Watertown, CT
Winning team: The Taft School, Trillium Architects, BPC Green Builders, Steven Winter Associates
The Taft School faculty home serves as a high-performance residence and learning lab for students. It is Connecticut’s first building to achieve LEED Platinum certification under the Building Design and Construction rating system for Homes using the new and more stringent LEED v4. The design and construction process is used as a teaching tool for science classes. The students monitor energy use, and a vegetable garden, chickens and rain garden form a comprehensive sustainability site.
Outstanding Single-Family Builder: Frankel Building Group, Houston, TX
Frankel Building Group shows its commitment to sustainable residential building through the design and construction of LEED-certified homes. FBG emphasizes homeowner education and promotes the LEED program in its market. In 2015, FBG completed 28 custom homes, all built to LEED for Homes standards, 26 of which have been or will be designated as LEED-certified.
Outstanding Affordable Builder: National Church Residence, Columbus, OH
National Church Residences integrates home and supportive services for seniors and vulnerable individuals, enabling them to live healthier and more satisfying lives, and thereby improving communities. NCR is committed to pursuing LEED as a sustainability standard. Since achieving LEED Platinum for Buckingham Place in 2009, NCR has pursued LEED certification on more than 15 projects.
Outstanding Affordable Project: Brookside Village Housing, Farmington, ME
Winning team: Brookside Partners LP; Amec Foster Wheeler Environment & Infrastructure — Herbert Semple, AIA Architect / Project Manager; Pinkham & Greer Consulting Engineers — Tom Greer, PE; H. E. Callahan Construction Co. — Jeff Ohler
Brookside Village comprises 32 one-bedroom units of affordable elderly housing. This LEED Platinum project has net-zero energy usage and is a low-income, federally subsidized housing project. All materials selected and systems designed in the building are highly sustainable and extremely energy-efficient, enabling developers to meet the prime project goal of providing a comfortable living environment.
Outstanding Multifamily Project: Tilley Lofts, Watervliet, NY
Winning team: Redburn Development; Kirchhoff-Consigli Construction; Harris A. Sanders, Architects, P.C.
The 80,000 sq. ft. Tilley Ladder Warehouse — once the oldest ladder manufacturing facility in the country — sat mostly vacant and neglected for 10 years, but the structure, conveniently located in Watervliet’s Port Schuyler neighborhood, in close proximity to a park and bike trail and easily accessible to the interstate, presented an ideal site for energy-efficient apartments. Through collaboration with Sustainable Comfort, the warehouse was converted into 62 luxury loft-style apartments, achieved LEED Platinum, and is now considered one of the nation’s most energy-efficient residential developments.
Outstanding Multifamily Developer: Forest City Realty Trust, Cleveland, OH
Forest City Realty Trust has achieved LEED certification for many property types, including office, retail, multifamily and entire neighborhoods. The Trust certified its first of 25 total LEED projects in 2006, and since 2008, has certified eight multifamily projects containing more than 2,600 units, half of them in 2015. Currently, Forest City has 11 multifamily projects containing more than 4,000 apartment units pursuing LEED certification.
LEED Homes Power Builders (*Represents a company that also won a LEED Homes Award):
- AMLI Residential
- Bijou Properties
- Bronx Pro Real Estate Management
- Buckingham Companies
- Cottage Homes
- Fore Property Company
- Forest City*
- Frankel Building Group*
- Gerding Edlen
- Habitat for Humanity (Charlotte)
- Habitat for Humanity (Dallas)
- Habitat for Humanity (Kent County)
- Habitat for Humanity (Matthews)
- Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services
- JCB Homes
- John Marshall Custom Homes
- McGuyer Homebuilders, Inc. (MHI)–Austin
- McGuyer Homebuilders, Inc. (MHI)–Dallas Fort Worth
- McGuyer Homebuilders, Inc. (MHI)–San Antonio
- National Church Residences*
- Sullivan Brother Builders
- The Dinerstein Companies
- The Hudson Companies, Inc.
- Uptown Rentals
- RPM Development Group
To learn more about LEED for Homes, visit the USGBC Web site.
