LEED for Homes Illinois

Affordable and Green: Greenbuild Legacy Home Project
November 20, 2010
8 a.m.-1 p.m.
Early: Member $45/Non-Member $45
Regular: Member $65/Non-Member $65

Organizations like Habitat for Humanity have been successful in providing affordable housing to families they determine can handle the financial and maintenance obligations of the new homes they build. The anticipated energy and maintenance costs of ownership figure prominently in qualifying potential future homeowners. This project is designed to Read more » »

Can you be environmentally aware, considerate of Life Cycle Impact, cost conscious, and still have beautiful counter tops in your home or commercial building? Yes!

Habitat for Humanity Lake County is using an exciting new cement counter top product in the Waukegan homes being built for Greenbuild 2010. Read more » »

The Greenbuild Legacy project is using one of USGBC’s latest additions to the LEED product line-up.  This overview is for those of you not familiar with the LEED for Homes program.

In January of 2008, LEED for Homes officially became an active rating system for the residential market. Its introduction offered an opportunity for single family, multi-family, and low-rise housing to be considered for LEED certification. At this time, only new construction and major gut-rehab projects are eligible for the program.

Since its introduction, over 25,000 homes have registered and 6,300 have been certified. This compares to about 20,000 registered and 5,000 certified projects for all of the other commercial LEED products combined. Read more » »

32 three-bedroom homes to lease for $590/month in Jerseyville, IL
Solar panels, wind turbines to cut utility bill to $0; LEED Platinum preliminary rating

The long-awaited promise of affordable, net-zero, green living will finally become reality in a St. Louis suburban cornfield in southern Illinois, where 32 single-family homes will be rented for $590 per month. Solar panels, wind turbines and other technology will reduce the utility bills to $0. The homes are expected to be LEED Platinum certified at completion, with AES as the LEED for Homes Provider.

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Habitat for Humanity Lake County has teamed up with USGBC and Bank of America to build two LEED Platinum homes side-by-side as part of the Greenbuild 2010. The homes will offer a miniature regional green building case study in occupancy costs down the road for two construction types.

Both homes will have the same floor plan and appearance but will be built using two different construction methods. The Greenbuild Legacy Home project will feature state of the art ICF and panelized construction, while the second home, targeted for 75% competition by Greenbuild, will be built using conventional stick construction as an opportunity for Greenbuild attendees to view its construction process. Currently both homes are aiming to achieve LEED for Homes Platinum certification. Construction cost data and performance will be tracked and published for both homes once both are complete. USGBC’s commitment to affordable green housing extends beyond Greenbuild, as fully 40% of the homes in the LEED for Homes program are affordable.

The Alliance for Environmental Sustainability will serve as the LEED for Homes Provider on the project. Learn more about this affordable housing project by viewing the full article at Real Estate Rama.

Wood frame home on left, ICF home on right

Reminder: A LEED for Homes development located in a LEED ND project area will receive full points for the “Locations and Linkages (LL)” category (learn more).  This also pertains to the new Sustainable Communities regional planning grant NOFA announced June 24.

Federal agency encourages smart growth, location efficiency and green communities

The federal government took a major step toward its mission to advance sustainability practices among buildings and communities when U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that LEED® for Neighborhood Development will be used to score the location efficiency of grant applications. HUD will apply this criteria to grant submissions to the upcoming Sustainable Communities Planning Grants and others, totaling $3.25 billion in available grant funds. Read more » »

The first residential LEED project within the City of Rockford, Illinois is now underway and being constructed by Comprehensive Community Solutions, Inc. (CCS).

Rockford's Affordable LEED Home

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Join USGBC for an important, free educational program – bringing you the tools you need to understand the intersection between green building and affordable housing. Read more » »

Illinois LEED for Homes recently got a big boost when the 11 townhomes built by Brinshore Development in Highland Park received their LEED Gold certifications.  The best part is, the affordable housing project captured regional and national attention for its ability to be replicated in other communities. Read more » »