I am really excited to check out this new green development in the neighboring town of Hinesburg, Vermont. The houses are beautifully designed and will be part of a fantastic green community. The developer's
website explains that 14 acres of the land were set aside for agricultural use (including a community garden) while the remaining contains a small cluster of active/passive solar homes. The development is within walking distance of the bustling metropolis of Hinesburg--i.e. the local school and grocery stores. Residents also have access to public hiking trails on the neighbor's family farm.
Some more green features of the project include:
Conservation of prime agricultural land
Cluster homes to minimize land impact
Location within three miles of school and grocery store
Homes built into hillside and with southern orientation
Passive and active solar
Geothermal heating
High performance windows
Cellulose insulation
Composite siding
Certified woodHere is a great
Seven Days article about the development and other green projects in the area. Ryan and I are headed to the South Farm Homes open house tomorrow from 12-4pm. I hope to take pictures to post...
4 comments:
The name of your blog caught our eye. We are also area green builders working in and around Chittenden County.
Feel free to check out our work at www.gogreenoneill.com.
Best wishes on your process,
Jeremy and Kat
Is the term 'green' meant to signify how much money the developers will make?
How is a half million dollar house in a commune 'sustainable', except to trust fund babies, retired teachers, and retired investment bankers from Manhattan?
I want to clarify something (and plan to post about this soon). A reporter from the Burlington Free Press was on site when we toured the South Farm Homes development this weekend. We had a lovely conversation with him but he, unfortunately, misquoted me in an article he wrote in this Sunday's paper (to which, I assume, Ellis Wyatt is referring). In talking with the reporter, I explained that Ryan and I are trying to prove that you can build green on a budget with our house--we are estimating that construction costs for our house will total $200,000-$225,000 (excluding land). I was NOT referring to the South Farm Homes development as being affordable. While the houses are beautiful and incredibly green, they are not in our price range. The houses have both solar hot water and PVs...and geothermal. Those renewables alone put them in another price bracket. So please know that I was misquoted in the article--I do not consider South Farm Homes to be an affordable green development...although I respect anyone building green, regardless of price point. Homes across the cost spectrum need to be built green. The purpose behing OUR project is to illustrate that it is possible to build green on a budget. So I hope that addresses your concerns, Ellis. And I will blog about this later. I want to clear up any confusion about the BFP article. Thanks.
In Response to Ellis Wyatt,
Your point about the cost of these houses is well taken. But not quite accurate, the construction cost of these houses(meaning the cost of the house minus the cost of the land) is in the $200,000 range.
And also you should know that the houses generate (in most cases) all their own energy on site, and burn no fossil fuels. They are also within easy walking distance the Hinesburg village.
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