Word: greenness
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...Intervale Green doesn't have the glass walls, waterless urinals or ice batteries that the BoA Tower boasts. No one would describe Intervale as cutting edge, but it is green where it counts - with more energy efficient appliances, better window insulation and energy efficient fluorescent lights, all of which will enable its low-income residents to save real money on their utility bills. "Residents will be paying 30% less for their utilities than in an ordinary building," says Nancy Biberman founder and president of WHEDCo, during a recent tour of Intervale. "For them, going green is a survivability issue...
...Intervale is one of a number of new and planned green, low-income housing projects around the country - an enterprise for which the federal stimulus package will include increased funding (it will also provide money for improving the energy efficiency of existing homes). In Miami, the nonprofit Carrfour Supportive Housing is building the 145-unit Verde Gardens Apartment building; the project will use green modular wall systems and aim for LEED certification. In Chicago, the Resurrection Homes project offers affordable green housing, and the soon to be completed Victory Centre will include green apartments for low-income seniors. And nationwide...
...That's a lesson you can take from Intervale Green. The neighborhood was once a symbol of total urban decay - President Jimmy Carter made a famous visit to the South Bronx in 1978 when it resembled a bombed-out war zone. Life has improved considerably since, but the $39 million Intervale development still looks a bit out of place on its street. As Biberman leads a tour through freshly painted hallways, she points to the artistic tile work in the floors - sold by a New Jersey company looking to recycle leftover tiles - as well as the compact fluorescent bulbs that...
...Intervale - like other energy-efficient housing developments - will also bring green into residents' checkbooks. Each of the units has Energy Star-rated refrigerators and appliances, triple-paned windows to cut heat loss and smart thermostats. Those features help make Intervale the largest affordable Energy Star-certified building in the country. And energy efficiency can be a surprisingly effective economic stimulus in the middle of a downturn. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, low-income families spend some 17% of their income on utilities - a far bigger proportion than spent by the better off. "In this economy there...
...That's one of the reasons why the Obama Administration has been pushing hard to include funds for green building and for weatherizing existing homes as part of its economic stimulus package. Wherever the funding comes from ultimately, there's little doubt that lower-income developments will continue to go greener, which will do more good for residents, and for the planet. "This is going to make a real tangible difference," says Jennifer Henry, the real estate sector manager for the Natural Resource Defense Council's Center for Market Innovation...